3 candidates on ballot, 1 write-in for West Virginia House of Delegates District 12
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PARKERSBURG - Four candidates - including an incumbent who lost in the primary - are vying for the District 12 seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates in the Nov. 3 General Election.
Republican Charles Hartzog won the Republican primary over incumbent Del. Vernon Criss, setting up a race between himself, Democrat Dennis Rempel and Libertarian Stephen Thomas Smith.
Hartzog, a 24-year-old Speedway employee who previously ran for the Monongalia County Commission, said he's "tired of the same old things never getting done. I want to see things get done."
Politicians have been saying they want more jobs and lower taxes, he said, but he asked what have people in office done to create more jobs. While he acknowledged the 2023 income tax reduction legislation passed under former Gov. Jim Justice as a good plan, he said taxes seem to just get higher year after year.
"I'd also like to lower property taxes," he said, adding that's more difficult.
One way to reduce other taxes is by increasing sales tax revenue - without increasing rates, Hartzog said.
"We can generate sales tax revenue through tourism and having more jobs," he said.
Hartzog said he would like to support and promote local tourism options and create incentives for businesses to come to the state.
"If people can't make money while living here, they're not going to live here," he said. "I'm not a socialist by any stretch, but I would be happy to incentivize businesses to come here."
Hartzog said he supports efforts by Gov. Patrick Morrisey's administration to promote tourism, improve infrastructure and fix the educational system. He said the Hope Scholarship program and public schools don't negatively affect each other.
"I'm not against public education. I want to see it improved. But I also promote school choice," he said.
Rempel is a 62-year-old Air Force veteran who retired from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service as an IT assistant manager and mainframe system programmer. He said he was motivated to make his first run for public office when, in previous elections, there was only one candidate on the ballot.
"I felt that there was no democracy there, and I wanted to make sure that people had a choice," Rempel said.
Spending about 15 years in the military helped him develop leadership skills that "allow me to listen and put our people first," he said.
"I feel that every child is entitled to a quality education, whether that be public, home school or private school," Rempel said.
Students need to be taught by accredited teachers, he said, and, in the case of home schooling, children should be tested periodically to ensure they're learning what they're supposed to. He said there should be changes made to the Hope Scholarship so that "somebody ... is accountable for that money given out."
The elderly should be able to live off their Social Security and other sources of income and veterans should "be able to go to a doctor without traveling more than an hour and 15 minutes," Rempel said. He acknowledged he doesn't have all the answers, but said he would work in a bipartisan manner to find solutions.
Smith, 67, retired after working in finance with a number of private businesses and at West Virginia University at Parkersburg as a professor. He ran for the House in 2022 and said he did not have an interest in running this year until "I met Charles Hartzog."
Despite his age, Smith described Hartzog as "a boy" who is "not grown up yet.
"He needs to move ahead before he represents all of us in Charleston," Smith said.
Smith said he interacted with lawmakers while at WVU Parkersburg so "I understand the workings of the Legislature as much as a person who's not in there can" and said he's had "a successful life," earning two master's degrees.
Smith said he wants to "put some parameters around school choice, not just send out checks."
Although he no longer has children in the public school system, Smith said his taxes still support it.
"I want an educated populace. That's what's going to make for prosperity," he said.
A majority of people want school choice, and so it's here to stay, Smith said.
"I think we need to work to make it work correctly," he said. "Competition makes you better. At the same time, we mandate so many things through our school system" and the playing field should be level.
Other issues Smith would like to address are improving the state's troubled foster care system and addressing the lack of clean drinking water in some parts of the state.
Criss, 72, filed to run as a write-in candidate following his loss to Hartzog in the primary. He attributed the result, in part, to the state Republican Party closing its primary to unaffiliated voters.
"The nominee received less than 4% of the total citizens' (votes) in District 12," he said. Running as a write-in gives residents a choice between his experience and "a very inexperienced young man that can't hold a debate and is not able to serve."
Criss, who works for a family-owned marine barge servicing business, has been in the House since 2017, after previously serving from 1987-90. He's served as chairman of the influential House Finance Committee the last four years, meaning he's "personally doing the budget for the state of West Virginia," he said.
Among the items Criss would like to address if he wins the uphill battle of a write-in is addressing the school aid formula and the foster care system, as well as continuing to cut taxes. The cuts already implemented "wouldn't have happened unless we had strong leadership in the House," he said, pointing to the elimination of taxes on veterans' pension and Social Security.
Criss said he wants to stress economic development and bringing manufacturing back to Wood County, something for which he said Morrisey's administration is unlikely to provide incentives.
"His concentration seems to be on data centers, and in the long run, that doesn't provide the jobs that manufacturing can bring," he said.
Criss has clashed with Morrisey on a variety of issues, and the governor and affiliated political action committees and independent expenditure groups spent thousands of dollars in the primary to oppose Criss and support Hartzog.
Hartzog was quick to say he did not coordinate with Morrisey in order to avoid violating election laws about candidates working with super PACs.
As for Criss' and Smith's criticism of him, Hartzog said it is their First Amendment right to make such statements.
"That doesn't make it true," he said. "Age isn't always a measure of wisdom or experience.
"Not everyone is going to agree with everyone. That's why we have elections."
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.