Here are Sen. Patricia Rucker’s answers to our questions

MSS: So just to kind of just give you a little bit of background here, I went up to the eastern panhandle over the weekend and just spoke with people around the panhandle, just different folks from different walks of life. And I put together some basic questions based off my conversations with them.
The question I asked each of them was, “what do you want to hear from your political candidate as they are competing for your vote?” All these questions are essentially from these conversations I had with folks.
I’ll get started.
One – the eastern panhandle has long experienced growth, while other parts of the state have seen population declines. However, there’s concern by residents I spoke with about whether or not the infrastructure – not just roads, but sewer, water, even the number of grocery stores are able to keep up with the growth. As a state lawmaker, what have you done? And what else would you do if you’re sent the Charleston again?

Patricia Rucker: So regarding the infrastructure, as I’m sure you know, the state is in charge of the roads. And of course, we regulate the utilities. And we have a public service commission that oversees water and sewer and those needs of the citizens.
Most of the other issues are local.
And in terms of those type of issues I’ve supported and voted for all the bills that help give more options for fixing aging infrastructure, for expansion of water and septic systems ,for a study to look at, to basically do an analysis of the water and septic systems around the state so that we know which are the ones that should be prioritized.
I have also supported and tried to fight for things that are definitely all part and parcel for growth, like fixing our roads, giving extra money to DOH to handle all of the side roads that need attention.
I have also supported locality pay, which is a big issue.
It’s not really just because of our growth, although that exacerbates it. It is being at the corner of the state with Maryland and Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia being one of the most expensive places to live in the country. It’s very hard for us to compete with what they’re paying their personnel and staff like teachers, police officers, firefighters, etc.

MSS: And those essential services also go towards what you’d consider infrastructure.

PR: Yes, of course they are. We can’t keep DHHR staff. We cannot keep basic services staff. DOH has trouble hiring people because they just can get paid so much more outside of our state lines. Absolutely.

MSS: So locality pay is definitely something you’re in favor of and looking to secure.

PR: Right.

MSS: Speaking with long timers in the panhandle, there’s some mixed feelings about the growth and the folks moving in from elsewhere. While most feel positive about the economic progress, there are some reservations about having the culture and the history of the area washed away. As a state lawmaker, how have you helped preserve the history and culture of their Eastern Panhandle while making sure growth is not hampered? And what do you intend to do, if you’re in your case, reelected to this position?

PR: So it’s a balance.
Of course, I’m open and welcoming to new folks coming in. But I’m also a little bit protective and defensive of them not trying to change us, what we are.
We moved here because we loved our area. We loved our small town thinking, our agriculture, and all the things that make Jefferson at Berkeley County a beautiful place to live. And I definitely do push to protect those things. I have and will continue to do everything I can to protect our farms and our farmers.
I also can tell you, I’m a supporter of the arts and history. I have attended several types of events in our area that are history focused to show my support for that and also have contributed to support those types of programs.
Not many of them are supported with state funds, but there are a few state funds that the humanities uses to keep those programs alive. I’m not sure that that’s really what’s gonna help us save our culture and our West Virginia, way of looking at things.
I think to a certain extent, we have to recognize that we will be impacted by all of the new folks coming in. But if we are proud of who we are, as we show that and act it, I think the new folks movie network, appreciate that and want to be part of that.

MSS :Cost of living is a huge issue in the Eastern Panhandle, not only for housing, but even for essentials such as gasoline and food.
I spoke with one young married couple who would be out on the street if it weren’t for a family member taking them in. I spoke with another guy who struggles to make ends meet even though he was able to buy a house before the interest rates rose.
What have you done as a state lawmaker to make sure these hard working folks can continue to survive and thrive in the Eastern Panhandle? And what do you tend to do to help them if you are sent back to Charleston?

PR: So I have introduced over and over and over again, a constitutional amendment to try to raise the homestead exemption, which will help those senior citizens at least.
We can’t really ask the government to do anything about rising housing costs. We clearly are being impacted by the folks moving in willing to pay a lot more. That is causing homes to be sold at a higher price, which is then causing assessments on our current homes to go up.
And the property taxes are based on those assessments.
So our property home value was assessed at a 40% increase this last year. Thank goodness, we’re not on a fixed income, and my husband’s still working. But when he retires and we are on a fixed income, I don’t know how anyone can absorb a 40% increase in one year.
And that’s not taking into account utility increases and all of those other issues.
So it is a real problem, but I don’t know that state government really can impact it other than things like the homestead exemption, or, as you know, we’ve been trying to cut to other taxes, like the income tax, and we are returning the property tax on vehicles.
So we’re trying to give some relief in the ways that we can within our state, but a lot of that rising cost is coming from federal and inflation, just growth of the area.
What can I do if I get reelected? Well, I mean, I believe that we need to look at ways to help people be able to remain in their homes, and whether that be a tax break, or whether it be some relief for those who are struggling to be able to, to keep their homes up at the property tax, or just a monthly mortgage.
But it really is forces outside our control.
And I do not want to interfere in the free market. There are some folks who want to do subsidized housing.
But I will tell you that you’re asking folks throughout the entire state of West Virginia – who are not getting paid as well as we are in the Eastern Panhandle and who have much harder struggles – to help us keep people in their homes when you do some subsidized housing.
I really, really hesitate to ask for help from the rest of the state, which is struggling, in order to help us.
So I’m really hoping that we can try to find a way that is more targeted.

MSS: Okay. All right. So what you said there, sort of like homestead exemptions, things of that nature to maybe provide relief rather than trying to use state funds to try to subsidize housing to keep people in their houses.

PR: Exactly.

MSS: And that perfectly rolls over into my next question.
When I was speaking with people, they brought up State, County, Municipal taxes as well as local fees. As a state senator, what do you intend to do to help continue to reduce the tax burden on folks that are struggling to make ends meet?

PR: This is a good time for me to say that I will continue to push to reduce taxes and make government – I like to call it right sizing. Our population has decreased but the size of government really hasn’t.
And I know it’s hard . It means some people will lose jobs. But I do believe that we need to right size the government so that we can provide as efficient a government as possible.

MSS: So that goes towards things like the breakup of DHHR, things like that?

PR: Exactly, things like that.
Reducing the administration.
I actually have a list of all of the state employees for all the different state agencies.
And it really blows my mind.
We have state agencies with over 200 employees. And then we have another state agency with over 200 employees. And then we have another state agency with over 200 employees.
We have not really ever brought up the subject – can we justify this? Do you really need this many employees to do the job that you do?
There are some agencies that clearly do, we do need a lot. Like the Department of Highways, for example. They’re trying to upkeep the roads for all of the 55 counties. They need a lot of employees.
But some of these other agencies, like the Department of Administration, let’s have that conversation, let’s see what’s really needed.
One of the things that bothers me is that very often, you do see these folks at the top, they’re not actually doing customer service, direct customer service, and they’re getting a pretty decent salary.
And then the folks at the bottom, the folks that citizens interact with, like DMV employees, get paid so little that some of them qualify for welfare benefits. That’s really terrible. They’re the ones that are interacting and doing the daily work. There’s just something that needs to be fixed there.

MSS: I also heard concerns about the youth in the Panhandle not having enough to do. While there are certainly options like Little League and Girl Scouts, just for example, these programs typically cost money. As a state lawmaker, what have you done to support recreational and community opportunities for kids who might come from a low income background? And what do you intend to do to make sure there are good opportunities for all children in your district?

PR: Obviously, that’s something that I care about. I think I’m the only legislator that has actively been trying to find a way to bring more community activities. I actually got funds to do a study about having a county pool that all the county would have access to. I’ve also supported 4H, which is free, completely free. It’s part of the West Virginia Extension Service. I’ve done everything I could to help support and expand that. FFA, which is in the public schools.
Of course, I support all of the extracurricular things like Little League baseball, and community basketball, things like that.
Our churches really take up a lot of those types of extra things to do. You can’t force people to go to a church and have access to that.
So in terms of the state role, any way that I can help sustain and expand the current programs we have, I absolutely will do.
But I also don’t want to take away from the fact that there are folks stepping in to fill in the gaps that are doing it well. But it’s up to you whether you choose to do that. You can’t mandate it. You can’t tell folks to do it. We also do have a very active Parks and Recs that I also support, and I participate in their fundraisers. And that’s of course, community support.

MSS: While there’s a lot of focus on the new money that’s been flooding into Berkeley and Jefferson counties, there’s also some people who are being left behind. During my travels up there, I personally observed folks sleeping on the sidewalk in downtown Martinsburg. As a state lawmaker, what have you done to help keep these folks from slipping through the cracks and what do you intend to do if elected to office?

PR: Well, I will tell you that some of those homeless are coming from outside our state so it’s hard to put a grasp or number on.
But we have a Homeless Coalition of which I’m a member of, and we discuss ways to help provide assistance to those and give them the hands they need.
I think some of those folks who are falling through the cracks are unfortunately addicted to opioids, or some sort of substance abuse. It’s an ongoing problem throughout the whole entire state, we have our share of it here.
In terms of all of our services, I’d like to point out, we have super, super active Jefferson and Berkeley County community ministries that help those that need a place to stay, that need warm food.
Every single day of the week, there is food being provided. I can tell you for certain Jefferson County.
For the people who don’t have enough food, we have a very generous community that really gives to the food pantries.
I think as a state, we need to continue to push for more rehabilitation places. We need to have more treatment options that are much more flexible than what we have.
And there’s,there’s really a need for people to recognize that they need to step up. Government cannot legislate this problem away. This is something that everyone needs to be involved in helping.

MSS: The solar panel compounds are a hot button issue, particularly in Jefferson County. I’ve heard a lot of broad opposition ranging from issues with the Green New Deal to concerns about possible contamination of land to the lowering of property values. Realistically, what if anything, is your role as a state lawmaker to address these concerns?

PR: I have recently been talking about potentially seeing if we need to do some sort of reclamation fund for these solar facilities, so that those who want to have these facilities have the same responsibilities as coal and gas. They have to do a reclamation fund so that when the mining or drilling is done, there is a fund to bring back what was lost.
I think that’s reasonable to ask that of solar, also.
A lot of folks are concerned, I’m concerned about property rights.
They can do what they want to do on their property up to the point it affects a neighbor’s property. There probably should be greater setbacks in place, so that folks don’t have a solar panel literally 50 feet from their window. There has to be a reasonable setback.
In terms of impact on our environment, I really wish that we knew more. This is all new technology at this time in the country, much less West Virginia.
I am very concerned because I don’t know, we need the data. We need the science. And I certainly hope that our Department of Energy is taking whatever threats there may be very seriously and look into it. What we need to do to ensure that we don’t have toxic chemicals in our water. We all drink for the aquifer and we do not want to destroy it.

Here are Sen. Patricia Rucker’s answers to our questions appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight , West Virginia's civic newsroom.