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I'm leaving for vacation later this week, heading on an eight-day cruise of the Caribbean, so I'm suffering a bit from vacation-brain as I write this. The following will be more of a stream of conscience of things that are on my mind.
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My apologies to Delegate Joey Garcia, D-Marion, but he could possibly have competition after all. I wrote last week that with Republican hospital executive Jonathan Board dropping out of the race for the state Senate held by the retiring Sen. Mike Capito, D-Marion, to run the West Virginia First Foundation meant Garcia had in essence locked up the race for that seat.
However, I misunderstood state law. The Legislature passed House Bill 3303 in 2022, prohibiting the appointment to unfilled vacancies on a ballot after a primary election. What I missed was that there is an exception to the prohibition. If a candidate withdraws, like Board did, then the local party executive committee can appoint a replacement within a narrow window of time. So, if Republicans can find a replacement for Board, Garcia could still see a contested general election in November.
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It was brought to my attention last week that a number of trial attorneys, some of whom I know to be pretty liberal/progressive and supporters of the Democratic Party, are donating to Republican candidates that are their polar opposites on most things. But they have found common ground. They both oppose various forms of tort reform.
Since the Republicans took the majority in the West Virginia Legislature in 2015, tort reform has been a major focus, especially in the Senate. Bills limiting the amount of lawsuit damages, how liability is shared among co-defendants, less vague consumer protection laws and limiting the types of government contracts for private attorneys have passed the Legislature in recent years.
Yet, in the last nine years and as the definition of "conservative" has shifted in the age of Trump, some Republicans in the Legislature have backed away from tort reform. Many Republicans over the years have run on platforms that the state legal system often was heavily weighted against business in lawsuits. But some of the new crop of Republicans once again believe the big business is putting the screws to the little people.
I think we can all agree that businesses and industries do need to be held to a higher standard, especially since companies have the money and resources to fight in court, often to the detriment to people whom they may have harmed and certainly don't have the legal or monetary resources to hold them to account for long. But I also think we can all agree that the justice system needs to be fair to all parties and not be weighted one way or another.
There was a big fight last year on House Bill 3270, limiting non-economic damages that can be awarded in deliberate intent cases to $500,000. That bill became law without the signature of Gov. Jim Justice. As an example, that bill passed the Senate 24-8, but six of those no votes were Republicans.
A similar vote took place this year in the Senate on House Bill 5338, relating to safe harbors for cybersecurity programs. The bill passed the Senate in a 27-6 vote, with five Republican no votes. Justice vetoed the bill, which would have made sure certain cybersecurity protocols are met and maintained. If companies follow those procedures, it would have acted as an affirmative defense in civil cases brought against the company in the event of a data breach.
One of the no votes on HB 5338 was Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson. Out of the $14,105 she raised for her campaign according to her first quarter campaign finance report covering the period between January and March, $7,500 came from attorneys from major trial law firms in the state, more than half of the total money she raised for the quarter.
One of the yes votes on that same bill was Senate Health and Human Resources Committee Chairman Mike Maroney, R-Marshall. He is being challenged from his political right by former U.S. Senate Republican candidate Chris Rose, who is backed by U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va. Out of the $20,119 Rose raised during the three-month quarter, $7,000 came from trial attorneys and the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.
I can't speak for all the attorneys who donated or their politics. But considering that Rucker and Rose are considered to be very conservative, I do feel safe in saying that Anthony Majestro, Kent Carper and Harry Dietzler are not among those who I think would support such candidates under normal circumstances. Politics makes strange bedfellows.
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Finally, I get that Republican candidates for governor are jockeying for a lane in the GOP primaries, but there has to be some better angle than ramping up anti-transgender sentiments among conservative voters.
According to U.S. Census data circa 2021, barely .8% of the U.S. population identifies as transgender. In fact, West Virginia ranks 47th for transgender population at .4% of the state's population, or around 5,700 adults. According to the UCLA Williams Institute, guess how many children between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as transgender in West Virginia? Just 700, or just .7% of the state's population in that age range.
I do not claim to understand transgender issues or gender dysphoria, especially among teens. All I know is regardless of the specific issues, we're talking about children, and I just don't believe that candidates should be using issues that children are facing as weapons to hit each other.
Because when the time comes that a transgender person, or a teen, is attacked in this state, these ads from candidates accusing each other of wanting to change the gender of children will be why.
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There will be no column from me on April 15 or the week after that, but I will be back on the beat on Monday, April 22.