Why has Gov. Manchin decided that the governor's mansion needs five marble bathtubs, 12 flat screen TV's, poker tables, copper ceilings, gold leafing or any other excess that is escalating the costs of this remodeling to well over $3 million?
Improvements to the governor's mansion should ensure protection from potential future water and fire damage. Those repairs may be necessary, but further enhancements of the mansion come at the expense of making other buildings such as the capitol building safe from water and fire damage.
There are legislative members' offices where safe escape from a fire is questionable and water damage exists. Some legislative members' offices are completely inaccessible to senior citizens or the handicapped, due to a tall flight of rickety stairs.
The extravagant redecorating by Gov. Manchin is inexcusable when there are House of Delegates members' offices that the public can not access.
When I was a freshman delegate, my office was atop the towering stairs. People fell trying to visit me.
Now my office is on the lower level of the same office space. I am a relatively young lady, yet returning from a legislative committee meeting, I have fallen and hurt myself approaching my office. My current office remains inaccessible to seniors with mobility challenges or handicapped persons unless they go all the way around the capitol outside, but then they don't have a key to enter through the governor's drive towards my office space. The legislative session is during the winter when it can be cold or snowy. This inaccessibility is the case for several legislators who the public might want to visit.
The Capitol Renovation and Improvement Fund that the governor is using to embellish the mansion could be better spent allowing for accessibility of the public to their elected public servants. Instead, the governor is gilding the mansion. Just a few years ago our government was making across the board cuts in spending, but now the state is funding marble bathtubs.
Article 3, section 20 of the West Virginia Constitution addresses the preservation of free government. "Free government and the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people only by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."
Perhaps to remain free from despotic tyranny, we should return to these principles and remember that there really are three branches of government.
Sincerely,
Cindy Frich
WV House of Delegates, 44th
Morgantown