Cast your vote: Help shape West Virginia’s Citizens Agenda

With the 2024 general election less than 10 weeks away, we at Mountain State Spotlight are thinking deeply about what questions we’re asking candidates— and we want you, the reader, to have a part in it.

We recently asked readers : What would you like to hear candidates talking about as they ask for your vote this election season?

We’ve identified four key issues that readers want to hear from candidates about, and created questions in each of these categories.

Now, we want you to help us prioritize questions on each issue by ranking them. After that, we’ll go and ask candidates these questions.

Economic development and inequality

• What plans do you have to improve economic opportunities for middle class and lower-income residents?
• What could the state/federal government be doing to improve the state’s workforce development, making sure that all West Virginians have access to and training for well-paying jobs?
• How will you improve West Virginia infrastructure including roads, broadband internet, water, gas and sewer?
• What are your plans to protect and strengthen Social Security, and how will you ensure that seniors receive the support they need?

Health care and social services

• How will you make healthcare more affordable and accessible, particularly for vulnerable populations like the poor, women, seniors, and LGBTQ+ West Virginians?
• How do you plan to address the ongoing substance use and opioid crisis in West Virginia?
• What is your stance on reproductive rights?

Environmental concerns

• What actions will you take to combat climate change and protect West Virginia’s natural resources?
• Will you support a transition from declining extractive industries such as coal to cleaner alternative industries? How?
• How will you balance economic development with protecting West Virginia’s water, air and land quality?

Education and childcare

• West Virginians we surveyed told us education is a top issue for them this election. What will you do to support high-quality education in West Virginia?
• What steps would you take to address the state’s rising child poverty rate?
• How will you ensure that all families have access to safe, affordable, and high-quality childcare services?
• What initiatives will you introduce to better support children in foster care and ensure their well-being and future success?

Some of these questions come from the Citizens Agenda we created for the primary election , and a few of them are new.

The questions we ask candidates might not end up being the exact question in this list. But your input helps us hold candidates accountable to the people they want to represent.

Cast your vote: Help shape West Virginia’s Citizens Agenda appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight , West Virginia's civic newsroom.