Lawmakers elected to serve all West Virginians
Published Dominion Post, Nov. 24, 2024. Reprinted with permission.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” — Rita Mae Brown, in Sudden Death (1983)
The election results have been tallied and West Virginians will again be represented by a supermajority of a single party.
The governor-elect will be reigning with party affiliates in the executive branch and both legislative houses. On Nov 12, Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey described his priorities. “You’ve heard the word “woke” before. You’ve heard the word DEI before and those are not, in my mind, West Virginia values.” (APNews.com, Nov 12)
Interesting. Traditionally, West Virginia values have been about caring for our neighbors. By most definitions, that’s about inclusion.
According to Merriam-Webster.com, “woke” is slang meaning aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social justice. The ACLU suggests any time you hear or see “woke,” you can think of basic human rights.
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. DEI recognizes that people come from differing circumstances. It is an effort to acknowledge that inherent biases and stereotypes are not productive and that all people need opportunities to reach their full potential. Those opportunities will differ depending on someone’s circumstances of origin. In those terms, it looks much like the U.S. Constitution and the ability to achieve the American Dream.
It looks just like those traditional West Virginia values.
Politicians, even the Governor-elect, have promised to serve all their constituents. But without being woke or without DEI, does all mean “all?” Or does it just mean “some?”
This brings us back to our opening quote: the definition of insanity.
West Virginia is one of only three states to lose population since 2010. In fact, our state’s population has been declining since the 1950s (wvnews.com). There are a multitude of reasons, especially lack of professional career opportunities. That results in a brain drain of native West Virginians who leave for education and employment. Other major reasons for population loss (or failure to grow) include ranking 48th to dead last in K-12 public education, as well as health care, child care and connectivity deserts across large swaths of our state.
Our neighbors in Kentucky just voted down a referendum to allow public taxes to be used for private and homeschool tuition. Our trajectory is headed in the opposite direction, with public funds being diverted from public schools to unregulated private and homeschooling, and the Legislature has prioritized tax cuts over adequate spending for essential services.
No one has a crystal ball to see the future. However, we can reasonably expect changes that will impact us, our friends, family and neighbors. If history is any guide, we can expect more legislation to target women, LGBTQ and minority populations. Add to that the systematic defunding of public schools and failure to tackle crises affecting children and families — literally, the basis for our future — and the outlook is bleak.
We can also expect more companies to turn their backs on the state due to aged infrastructure, lack of renewable energy options, lack of an educated workforce and public policies that fail to embrace inclusion
We can expect poverty to increase as more women are forced to leave employment due to lack of reproductive choices and childcare resources.
When the Legislature convenes in Charleston in February, our state’s League of Women Voters will be keeping tabs and following legislation and its progression with real-time updates, “make some noise” campaigns and analysis of what each bill means to our citizens, if enacted. Please follow our Facebook page for frequent updates during the legislative session.
The people have spoken. West Virginia voters, those who voted and those who did not, chose again to concentrate power in our state government. With great power comes great responsibility, and that responsibility is a duty to serve all our citizens, not just some.