Published: September 27, 2008 08:56 pm      

Weeks places southern W.Va. needs at center of gubernatorial campaign

BLUEFIELD — Republican Russ Weeks admits he faces an uphill battle in his gubernatorial contest against Gov. Joe Manchin.

Weeks, who met with members of the Daily Telegraph editorial board last week, said the gubernatorial challenge reminds him of his successful 2002 grassroots Senate campaign.

“When I ran, no one gave me any chance at all of winning,” Weeks said. “Sen. (Bill) Wooten spent $124,000. I spent $12,000. I find myself in the same situation now. There is no question about it. I can’t keep up with Gov. Manchin on fund raising.”

However, the former lawmaker isn’t deterred by the challenge ahead. Weeks currently has four debates scheduled with Manchin in the Charleston, Martinsburg, and Morgantown communities, and is challenging the incumbent Democrat to three additional debates — including a debate in Bluefield. He is also hoping to be joined Republican John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin on the campaign trail in West Virginia.

As he travels across the state, Weeks also is finding a familiar topic that voters seem interested in talking about — the West Virginia University degree scandal involving Gov. Joe Manchin’s daughter.

“The problem with WVU is not in Morgantown,” Weeks said. “The problem with WVU is in Charleston. If I’m elected governor, I will remove all of the politics from WVU and the governing board.”

Weeks said Manchin has ignored Freedom of Information Act requests for e-mails and phone records concerning the degree-scandal controversy. In an apparent spoof of the degree controversy, Weeks himself is offering donors their own masters of business administration degree from the “University of Mojo” through his campaign website.

“Everywhere I go, this is the topic of conversation people want to talk about,” Weeks said. “I want to talk about other issues.”

The other issues Weeks would like to talk about include the disparity faced by residents of southern West Virginia when compared to other parts of the Mountain State. Weeks said it is particularly alarming to realize that there are communities in southern West Virginia that still lack modern water and sewage infrastructure, as well as four-lane highways.

Weeks said funds are currently being removed from localities across the state to support a road construction project in Fairmont advocated by Manchin.

“I want to treat everybody in the state the same,” Weeks said. “Because we are all paying the same amount of taxes. No one area should be prioritized over another. We have people here in southern West Virginia that don’t have access to water and sewer.”

Weeks said improving the self-confidence of West Virginians also is critical. He said providing a good education to area youth is “the key to unlocking 99 percent of all doors.”

If elected governor, Weeks said he will appoint a secretary of transportation who would prioritize local projects such as the Coalfields Expressway and the King Coal Highway.

“If you remember four years ago, as soon as the governor took office, he stopped construction on the Coalfields Expressway I believe,” Weeks said. “Here again, this is where the southern (end of the state) is let down. You are talking about federal dollars and state dollars. They go hand in hand. I’m going to put the state DOH back in the business of building roads.”

When asked about the air-service crisis facing Mercer County, Weeks said the state can help by eliminating burdens such as the inventory tax and business franchise tax. Weeks said the state also can help by trying to recruit smaller carrier services such as Federal Express to local airports like Bluefield.

“Fed Ex and others are always looking for smaller areas to hub out of,” Weeks said. “These people want to come to smaller areas. If we can get them here, we’ll be getting more jobs.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com