West Virginia

West Virginia Democrats
by Zachary Greenblatt

            West Virginia is among the smallest of the states. From east to west its greatest length is 266 miles (428 kilometers). Its greatest width, from north to south, is 237 miles (381 kilometers). The total area is 24,231 square miles (62,758 square kilometers), including 111 square miles (290 square kilometers) of inland water surface.
            West Virginia has a somewhat humid continental climate, with hot summers (cooler in the mountains) and cold winters. The coldest area is the Cheat River basin in the north-central part of the state; the warmest part is along the Tug Fork River in the southwest. Winter temperatures vary from an average of slightly more than 34°F (1°C) in the central part of the state, to an average of nearly 40°F (4°C) in the southwest. Summer temperatures range from an average of about 66°F (19°C) in the state's central part to an average of 73°F (23°C) in the southwest. West Virginia is characterized by an unusual amount of local climatic variation.
            Today slightly more than 1 percent of the people are foreign born. Of the total foreign population, the Italians, English, and Germans are the most numerous. African Americans make up 3.3 percent of the state's population.
Almost all of West Virginia's farm families are descended from the earliest settlers and have owned their own land for generations. In the coal-mining regions many of the workers lived in company-owned houses and towns. A number of these miners were immigrants or the children of immigrants.
            The chief executive officer is the governor, who is elected for a four-year term. The governor may serve two consecutive terms. The state legislature consists of the Senate and the House of Delegates. The Supreme Court of Appeals heads the judiciary.
            In state and local politics control has alternated between the two major political parties. Since the early 1930s the Democratic party has been dominant, but the governor who held office for the longest period was a Republican--Arch Moore, who served from 1969 to 1977 and again from 1985 to 1989. (His bid for a record fourth term was defeated in 1988.) The other governor who served for eight consecutive years was John D. Rockefeller IV, a Democrat (1977-85).
Before the election of 1932 West Virginia usually supported the Republican presidential candidate; then it voted for the Democratic nominee in six consecutive elections. In 1956, 1972, and 1984, however, it voted for Republican candidates. In the 1952, 1980, and 1988 elections it was one of the few states that supported the losing Democratic candidates. When John F. Kennedy won the West Virginia primary in 1960, the victory assured him the Democratic nomination and erased the political controversy about his religion as a handicap in the presidential race.
            West Virginia Democrats want to address real problems affecting Americans by saving Social Security for all; by reducing class size for our children by hiring 100,000 new teachers; by making sure that doctors and patients together, not insurance companies, make health care decisions; by extending Medicare coverage; and by raising the minimum wage. These are the issues that define us as Democrats and most clearly outline our goals for strengthening American families. Together with the agenda we are presenting today, these issues serve as ourlegislative roadmap to maintaining the strong economy we currently enjoy and addressing the concerns families wrestle with everyday: preparing for retirement, educating children and raising them in safe neighborhoods, and having access to quality health care. To further these goals we are committed to a 1998 Democratic legislative agenda that includes:
            Balancing the Budget and Saving Social Security First. By passing a balanced budget three years ahead of schedule, we will be able to eliminate the deficit and pay for every proposal in the agenda while reserving the surplus until we strengthen Social Security.
            Reducing Average Class Size and Modernizing Schools. We will reduce average class size to 18 students per classroom for the first through third grades by helping local communities hire 100,000 new teachers with certified skills to teach basic reading and math.
            Establishing a Patients' Bill of Rights. We will assure patients high quality health care by guaranteeing important protections such as access to the specialists they need, coverage for emergency services, an internal and external appeals process, confidentiality, and patient participation in medical decisions.
            Extending Medicare. Enabling Americans ages 62 to 65 and displaced workers ages 55 to 65 to purchase Medicare health coverage and enabling retired workers ages 55 to 65 to buy coverage if their former employer drops their coverage. Ensuring that reimbursement policies do not overpay providers to reduce unnecessary Medicare costs.
            Raising the Minimum Wage. We recognize the value of work and will give millions of hardworking Americans a pay raise by increasing the minimum wage.
            Fair Pay. Helping guarantee equal pay for equal work by strengthening enforcement against wage discrimination, establishing voluntary fair pay standards, and improving access to wage information for workers.
            Research and Technology. Expanding resources for development of medical cures, energy efficiencies, agricultural innovations and commercialization of new technology.
            Small Business Pensions. Making pensions more affordable for small businesses by providing a $2,000 tax credit for pension start-up, and allowing contributions to IRAs to be made by payroll deduction, and making a simplified defined benefit plan available to small business employees.
            Pension Protections. Making pensions more secure by providing meaningful audits, by expanding pension right-to-know standards, and by shortening vesting periods.
            Access to Quality Affordable Health Care. Promoting insurance reform by guaranteeing access to needed health care providers, as well as access to emergency services; ensuring confidentiality of medical records and simplifying the grievance and appeals processes.
            Reducing Class Size and Modernizing Schools. Reducing average class size to 18 students per classroom for grades 1-3 by helping local communities to hire 100,000 new teachers with certified skills to teach basic reading and math, and providing tax credits to local communities to build and renovate over 5,000 schools. Ensuring Internet access for schools and libraries by protecting their "E-Rate" discounts, and providing new resources to help states integrate technology into their curricula and train teachers to use computers.
            Child Care. Making child care more affordable for working families, increasing access to and promoting early learning and healthy child development, improving the safety and quality of child care, and expanding access to safe after-school care.
            Educational Opportunity Zones. Improving public education by ending social promotions, increasing expectations and accountability, and providing training for teachers and extra help for students who need it.
            Ending Teen Smoking. Discouraging teen addiction to cigarettes by adding a health fee to each pack, by requiring an end to tobacco company marketing directed at children, and by requiring tobacco companies to pay for new smoking prevention efforts.
            Juvenile Crime. Protecting kids from guns and drugs through special juvenile prosecutors and courts, extending the Brady Bill to juvenile offenses, and strengthening federal prosecution of gang crimes. Reducing juvenile delinquency while relieving child care burdens by matching the investments of local communities for before- and after-school learning.
            Tougher Drunk Driving Penalties. Set a national maximum standard of .08 blood alcohol level for drivers by tying federal highway funds to state compliance.
            Environmental Protection. Restoring clean water to our communities, accelerating and making polluters pay for toxic waste cleanup, protecting our national parks and other great places, and modernizing our food safety laws.