One may ask when did the constitutional guarantee of free speech get rescinded, so that it is no longer permissible to criticize people whose ideas are opposite one's own? The Legislature is elected to represent all the people, not just the ones who vote for the Democratic Party. This state needs more, not less, two-party competition.
As far as claiming credit for the ideas of others, one may ask where the writer got her information. For example, I assisted Frich in contacting newspapers and legislators about the eminent domain bill in 2006 that she was personally given charge of by the House leadership. It was she who put in the hard work to push through the relevant committees in the House and Senate the version that ultimately passed and was signed into law.
It was Frich who spearheaded the restoration of funding for the WVU rifle team, which was in danger of being dissolved for budgetary reasons. I understand another delegate from Morgantown stepped forward later to claim credit for Frich's hard work. That delegate certainly wasn't concerned about "getting along" with Frich.
Frich worked hard on other issues such as the medical malpractice insurance problem, insurance reform, unemployment insurance reform and sales tax reduction. But the Democratic leadership will typically refuse to take up ideas from Republicans, and then come back later and reintroduce the same ideas as if they were the authors.
Frich
is the only local delegate not to have voted for the Legislature's retroactive pay increase. She was the only regional legislator to vote against the wage-tax funding bill (also rejected by 80 percent of voters) for Morgantown's roads, that would have impacted everyone who works in Morgantown, with a disproportionate impact on low-income workers. There is also virtue in standing against bad bills.The writer closes with the trite observation that there is no "I" in "team." I fail to see where having the Democrat "team" in power has been a net positive for citizens, who have been suffering for decades from a hostile business climate that drives businesses away because of the tax and regulatory structures Frich has worked hard to improve. The only hope for the state is in encouraging more people like her to run for office.