Two years ago, Stonewall Jackson Resort was touted to legislators as a great success story that we should copy by funding the Economic Development Grant Committee with $230-plus million. You might recognize this as the Victorian Outlet Mall/Cabela's legislation.
I tried to amend the legislation, spoke against the idea, and was the only legislator from the region to vote no.
This year, the Legislature embarked upon its first installment of a multi-million dollar bail-out of interest payments that McCabe-Henley properties is unable to meet. This company, co-owned by Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-W.Va., developed and managed Stonewall Jackson Resort. The state has already granted $15 million to $23 million to the project and the federal government has forgiven them around $15 million of debt.
Now the company cannot meet its interest payments, which are not obligations of the state. Naturally the Legislature stepped up, this year, to hand them $1 million of your money, and they are planning to grant them $2.5 million before next year passes.
Not only did I speak against this use of state revenue, I was the only delegate from the district to vote against it.
The Legislature and governor thought another good use of your money was a $26,000 per year pay raise for judges, along with the corresponding hefty pension increase. Again, I voted "no," and despite the local delegation's support of this legislation, I requested a gubernatorial veto.
No money for pay raises for educators? Last year we learned that a legislator handed out state education dollars, at a political party function, for noneducation purposes. In another instance, we learn that federal No Child Left Behind funds were allocated, by the state, to a graveyard and Little League T-shirts. This information was unearthed many months after my questioning legislators what had they done with the money?
No money for Medicaid? The Wyoming County senior citizens director was being paid some $500,000 in salary and perks per year. West Virginia Medicaid was using taxpayer money to buy Viagra for registered sex offenders. I could go on ... Isn't this a shameful way to handle your hard-earned money? In the chambers of the House of Delegates this February, my minority party colleagues and I were berated for introducing legislation to phase out the sales tax on food. I ask you, is it moral to tax a human being's bare necessity, food, and waste it in these ways?