Salango Sees COVID-19 Getting Worse in W.Va.
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WHEELING -- West Virginia Democratic nominee for governor Ben Salango sees COVID 19 cases in the state continuing to increase this fall as current leadership sits on $1.25 billion in federal federal sent to West Virginia to help stop spread of the virus.
Salango arrived by Humvee Saturday to stops in Ohio and Marshall counties.
He first greeted supporters at the Ohio Democratic Party Headquarters on Market Plaza in the morning, before moving on to a gathering at Heritage Port along Wheeling's waterfront.
From there, his caravan traveled to the Marshall County Democratic Headquarters in Moundsville.
Salango said if he currently were governor, he would be making certain the state spent the $1.25 billion in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act fund to make schools and hospitals safer in West Virginia.
"We have got to focus on healthcare. We've got to focus on our children, and made sure our first responders are taken care of, " he said after addressing those at Market Plaza. "I would have made sure we were taking things seriously from the beginning and wearing masks.
"We went from being the best in the nation to being the worst in the nation in terms of the spread of COVID 19. And that's a direct result of (Republican governor) Jim Justice, and his failed leadership."
He said West Virginia now has "slipped into a situation where we're going to have to dig ourselves out of a hole," and the only way to do that is to spend the CARES Act money to make facilities safe.
"We're not going to be able to get back to in-person school until we are spending money for temperature scanners for schools, nurses for schools, testing for teachers and service personnel and students.
"He is sitting on over a billion dollars, and he (Justice) isn't getting it out to the people."
The money also isn't getting out to the small businesses and making certain they stay open, according to Salango.
"He gave them $5,000 (through a Small Business Administration grant) and then nothing else," he said. "We have to focus on keeping our businesses open, keeping our people employed and weathering this epidemic."
Salango thinks West Virginia is "going to have a very rough fall" with the number of COVID cases continuing to rise.
"Our hospitals are having difficulty as it is," he said. "We are getting into the flu season. Our emergency departments are seeing their usual load of accidents and things they take of -- with the flu, and now COVID 19...
"You are seeing true community spread, and it's because of his (Justice's) failed leadership."
Salango isn't a stranger to the Wheeling area. He practiced law with the Wheeling firm of Flaherty Sensabaugh and Bonasso for 15 years, and his wife -- Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Tera Salango -- once interned for Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp.
The military Humvee in which Salango traveled is owned by O'Brien Construction in Wheeling, and it was flanked by a larger military jeep. They bore signs showing support for Salango from Ironworkers Local 549, and Operating Engineers Local 132.