Green wants united front to push for southern W.Va.

Mannix Porterfield

A united front is in the offing to advocate southern West Virginia interests in the Legislature and within all state agencies, says its leading promoter, Sen.-elect Mike Green.

Green is less than two weeks away from taking his oath as the new senator in the 9th District, composed of Raleigh and Wyoming counties, and already is looking into the 2007 session.

“We’re in the preliminary stages of getting southern West Virginia leaders together, whether in education, business, etc., and forming a coalition to educate other legislators and state leaders about the needs and wants of southern West Virginia,” Green says.

In his first post-election interview, the incoming Democratic senator said about 15 people so far have pledged to serve in the coalition.

Green envisions a reception during the upcoming session so the coalition can meet with lawmakers from other parts of the state, the heads of all state departments and Gov. Joe Manchin.

“I think it would be a great idea, an opportunity to do a little PR work and marketing for southern West Virginia,” Green said.

One source of inspiration for such a coalition was the proposed Z-Way road project that surfaced last winter when it became obvious the Shady Spring interchange would be abandoned. That occurred in a citizen uprising over higher tolls imposed on the West Virginia Turnpike.

“I thought it would be a great idea to speak with one voice on roads,” Green said.

Roads are a major issue, but Green said other aspects of life come into play when the coalition gets rolling — education, medical needs and labor.

“Roads is the biggest project, but it all intertwines,” he said.

Admittedly, it could be a difficult sell since lawmakers from various regions are in hot competition in every legislative session, seeking scarce dollars for their own pet projects.

Green feels some headway can be made for southern counties if the coalition conducted a PowerPoint presentation reflecting all facets of life.

“Most people don’t make it to southern West Virginia unless you live here,” he said.

Green has wasted no time getting started on another goal of his — a coal gasification project, hopefully in his district. Toward that end, he has held preliminary discussions with Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

“That’s one of our big issues,” he said. “There are so many issues out there. The main thing is getting down there, getting accustomed, making contacts and working with other legislators to accomplish things.

“I don’t have a specific bill, per se, other than a concept, as far as coal gasification is concerned.”

Rather, the new senator said he wants to meet with other leaders to determine if such a facility is workable in southern West Virginia.

One phase of such a project he wants to explore is whether any money is available from the West Virginia Parkways Authority to develop infrastructure that would attract investors in a gasification project.

Another key issue likely to surface is the all-terrain vehicle safety law, enacted in the final year of Gov. Bob Wise’s administration.

State Police have warned lawmakers the existing law is too feeble and cannot be enforced, and are calling for a total ban on four-wheelers from all paved roads and mandatory helmet use, regardless of age.

“I have the utmost respect for law enforcement and their perception of what needs to be done,” said Green, a former Beckley police officer.

Green says the Legislature needs to find a way to identify the vehicles themselves to assist police in enforcing whatever statute replaces the existing one.

“I don’t think ATVs were manufactured to be on hard surfaces, but at the same time, here in this area, they’re such a part of our society,” he said.

“It’s a tough situation. To sit here right now and say, ‘keep them off paved roads, I would support a bill to ban them off paved roads,’ I’m not going to say that here today, if there are other ways to handle them.”

Green pointed to the need for some ATV riders to be on paved roads when going from one trailhead to another.

“At the same time, the question is safety,” he said. “The deaths of these riders are catching everybody’s attention. What doesn’t get into the newspapers are the riders that are injured, maimed, and the emergency room bills. A lot of these people don’t have insurance and the costs come back on the state, which is another burden for the state.”

Green was so used to getting up campaigning for the seat he wrested from Republican Sen. Russ Weeks that he awoke the day after the election and wondered where his next campaign stop was to be.

His quest for the seat actually began in September 2005.

Now that he’s won the job, Green must get accustomed to another fact — life won’t be the same.

Already, some constituents are driving that point home. His first call was from a woman concerned about the failure to get her child support.

“A week later, I learned what a big issue it is, so many millions of dollars not paid in child support,” he said.

“That was something I didn’t even realize was a major issue and obviously it is. I had people from down in the lower end of Raleigh County call about strip mining and their concerns with that. At the post office, a gentleman from Pinecrest (Hospital) came up to me and said he had worked with Weeks on some issues and wanted to bend my ear about that.”

Curiously, no one has called him yet to seek repairs to a road.

Green, a Beckley businessman involved in home construction and remodeling, says his home number will continue to be listed, equipped with an answering machine to accommodate an anticipated higher number of callers.

“That’s what we’re here for — serving the public,” he said.

“I’ve been in public service pretty much my whole life, with law enforcement, being in the business world. Dealing with people is what I’ve done. I enjoy people.”

— E-mail: mannix @ register-herald.com