Two of the six candidates vying for the four 44th District House of Delegates seats say West Virginia is financially fit despite the crisis at the national level.
Democrat Alex Shook and Republican Cindy Frich discussed the state's economy, the condition of Monongalia County roads and the video lottery during a meeting with The Dominion Post's editorial board Wednesday.
Shook, an incumbent and attorney, said energy costs are the main reason the state's finances are in such good shape.
"We're making a lot of money off the high price of energy," he said.
Growing cities, such as Morgantown and Parkersburg, are bringing businesses into the state, Shook said, which works to improve the state's economy, and those improvements positively impact the state's budget.
"There's been a lot of success in West Virginia," he said. "We are doing something right."
Frich, who previously served in the House of Delegates for two terms, from 2003-'06, said the state is in a much better position now financially than it was when she was first campaigning for a seat in the House.
The insurance, medical malpractice and tax reforms the Legislature passed while she was in the House helped put West Virginia in "a great position," she said, but she also agrees that energy costs are a contributing factor.
"I hope there's a great demand for the energy West Virginia produces," Frich said. "It has helped get budget surpluses."
The state's budget may be sound, they said, but the state road fund is strapped for the cash to cover the cost of maintaining existing roads and building the needed new ones.
Shook said the increase in gas prices and the resulting decrease in the number of people driving could be what hit the state road fund the hardest.
He is looking at ways to encourage private investors to contribute to the fund. The investors would help construct the necessary highways or bridges in exchange for being allowed to collect tolls on those areas of the roadway.
The road repair costs need to be looked at on a local level as well, Shook said, and he supported the local $2 user fee that failed in a February special election.
"We're not going to have a big fix unless we have local participation," he said. "That's not a popular opinion and I understand that."
Frich said new roads and road maintenance need to be the governor's priority.
"We need to take money from the general revenue fund and put it in the state road fund before we vote on the budget," she said.
Frich said the state Division of Highways is using a new formula to allocate money to the 55 counties, and the formula is putting Monongalia County lower on the list
"I've always felt Mon County didn't get its fair share," she said. "Now we're in worse shape than we were before. That's something that we have to change."
Frich said there is a trend in the Legislature to provide help to the state's more rural counties at the expense of the larger counties.
Video lottery is a lucrative business for the state, and the candidates disagreed on whether West Virginia could survive without the presence of hot spots.
Shook said he believes the state will live with the hot spots because of the revenue they bring in.
The money from video lottery supports programs for the state's senior citizens and the PROMISE scholarship, among other things, he said.
"If I'm going to be honest, I think they're here to stay," Shook said.
Frich said she thinks the Legislature needs to do something about the hot spots before they are eligible to renew their licenses in 2011, because the gambling parlors are not necessary to the state's survival.
"The state is blessed with natural resources like coal and gas," she said. "If we managed them effectively and kept it in state, we could survive without that revenue."
Both Shook and Frich have been a part of the House of Delegates, and both said they learned what makes a good delegate from their previous terms.
Shook said he believes the key to being an "effective" delegate is being able to work past political party divider, without alienating anyone.
"Ask the Republicans I've worked with, and I think they'll say I've been reasonable and respectful in times where I've disagreed with them," he said. "You have to be able to work across the board."
Frich said she sponsored a lot of bills that passed during her previous terms as a delegate, which shows she is able to work with others and can take a stand when she believes things need to be improved.
"I'm willing to stand up when things aren't going right and stick my neck out there to get it to stop," she said. "I don't want to go to Charleston and Just take up a seat."