West Virginia needs to break the shackles of two centuries and move into the 21st century by merging municipal and county governments, and Beckley is a good place to start, says a state senator.

Making a strong pitch for metro government, Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, outlined his dream Wednesday of seeing this become a reality across the state.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for this county and region,” McCabe told the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce and municipal leaders at Black Knight Country Club.

While the economy here undeniably is strong, McCabe said changing times dictate a change in how governments function.

“We’re moving into a different world,” he said. “Size matters. If we don’t do anything as far as consolidation in the state of West Virginia, at the next census in 2010, we will not have a single Class One city in West Virginia. We won’t have a single city of 50,000.”

Metro governments can streamline services and ultimately reduce the cost per citizen over time, while positioning regions to attract outside investors, McCabe said.

“The opportunity is out there,” the chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee told the luncheon audience.

“This area ought to absolutely look at something. You can make it happen relatively quickly.”

In a hypothetical example, McCabe speculated about a fusion of Logan, Boone, Mingo and Lincoln counties into a single driving force — economically and politically.

About 37 percent of all West Virginia coal is extracted there, reflecting a near similar percentage of mining employment, along with about one-third of the gas and oil well production, the senator said.

If the four counties merged, and went to the Legislature as a united voice, he asked, “Who do you think sets the energy policy in this state? That county. That’s a big deal, being able to flex your muscle and have people pay attention to you.”

Already, Fairmont and Marion County are laying the groundwork through a review committee for a potential merger, now that their economies have been eclipsed by the Clarksburg and Morgantown areas, he said.

If the merger materializes, McCabe said, Fairmont would become the state’s largest city.

“They won’t stay the biggest forever,” he said. “All we need in Charleston is to have Fairmont become bigger than us and we will go to metro real fast.”

In the World War II era, he said, Charleston was a thriving metropolis, spitting out chemicals to meet the war effort, and was larger than Columbus, Ohio, and Charlotte, N.C., but all that has changed in the past six decades, he said.

“We have let the world go by,” he lamented.

“We can’t compare to Charlotte. We could in 1950. Kanawha County is kind of living in the past.”

An absence of cities with 50,000 or more people sends the business world a message there are no metropolitan areas, but instead your state is a micropolitan area, McCabe said.

“If you would consider having Beckley and Raleigh County go to a metro government, you would change that micro-politan area to a metropolitan statistical area (MSA),” he said.

“An MSA is a big deal. That’s what industry really looks at.”

And the reason is, he explained, is that an MSA can provide an expanded labor force able to absorb the volume of jobs a major investor has to offer.

McCabe is barnstorming the state, promoting metro governments, as provided under a new law enacted by the Legislature. Residents of both cites and counties alike would have to approve such proposals by a 55 percent majority.

“It’s not about taking anything away from anybody,” McCabe said.

“It’s about working locally to make things happen. It’s not about Charleston and the Legislature or the governor or anybody else up there telling you to do anything. The legislation is permissive. It’s a process you can follow to create consolidated government.”

No Raleigh County government officials were in attendance at the meeting.

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mannix@register-herald.com