By Liz Beavers
Tribune Managing Editor
KEYSER – Seven candidates in three major races in Mineral County, in addition to five candidates for three other positions, participated in the Mineral Daily News Tribune's Meet the Candidate Night Wednesday at Wind Lea.
Occasionally sprinkling their comments with a bit of good-natured humor, the candidates spoke honestly and earnestly about themselves and their goals, providing the crowd with a bit better understanding of the names that will be appearing on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Only once did the exchange get a bit tense.
Moderator Dave Boden, publisher of the News Tribune, opened the featured races with the two candidates for Mineral County Commission.
Incumbent Janice LaRue, a Republican, spoke of her desire to continue to work toward “making Mineral County more attractive to business and future residents.” In order to do that, she said three of her main goals are “the expansion of water and sewer, a business retention program, and a recycling program.”
Challenger Donnie Ashby, a Democrat, said he feels “we have a lot of things we can do to attract business,” including the promotion of one of the county's most beautiful assets, Jennings Randolph Lake, for the purpose of “tourism and also for business.”
In response to the question what they feel is the most important role of the county commission, Ashby replied “to make sure everyone gets along and works together to help the county,” and LaRue said it was “to have a balanced budget and be able to fund the constitutional offices as best we can.”
She spoke of an “open door policy” as a means of those offices working together more efficiently, and Ashby said he felt the commissioners should “not micromanage and tell the assessor or the sheriff how to do their job.”
In the race for sheriff, Republican Paul Sabin talked about his extensive law enforcement background and noted that “there's no substitute for training and service.”
He said he feels “the citizens of the county have come to trust and rely on the Sheriff's Office,” and he hopes to not only continue but to improve upon that relationship.
Democrat Craig Fraley also spoke about experience, and noted that, after working as a deputy under four different sheriffs, he “learned a lot of good things and a lot of bad things.”
He said his goals as sheriff would be simple: “Take what we have and build on it ... With the resources we have, we should be able to go to a 24/7 shift.”
Write-in candidate Ringo Nelson vowed to “get tough o child molesters and drugs,” and said, if elected, he would keep Chief Deputy Sabin in his present position because “he's experienced, he's trained, and he knows what he's doing.”
When asked whether the candidates would place their emphasis on law enforcement or tax collection – both of which are legally the duties of the sheriff – all three candidates replied with the need to protect the citizens of the county.
“I believe they go hand in hand,” Fraley said. “By the state code, you are the treasurer of the county, but we can't have any mess ups in the tax office or we won't have the money for law enforcement.”
Nelson felt more law enforcement is needed to work on the drug traffic and illegal four-wheelers in the county.
“Taxes are important,” Sabin said. “And you may think a tax is going to kill you, but it's not ... We have to stay one step ahead of the (criminals) in order to beat them.”
It was when Fraley referred to possible missing or misappropriation of funds in the sheriff's tax office that the exchange got a bit tense.
“The so-called misappropriation of funds were not misappropriated, they were stolen,” Sabin said, noting that the situation in which monies intended for the West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles had disappeared is now in the hands of the West Virginia State Police for investigation.
It was a hypothetical question about whether or not the sheriff's candidates would send a deputy out to investigate something as seemingly minor as a neighbor “hacking” at someone's trees, however, that lightened the mood.
Nelson's reply: “If they were my trees, I'd hang him.”
In the race for assessor, it was accessibility to the office and information about one's taxes that took the spotlight.
“I've always been a working assessor; my desk is right up front and a lot of times people don't even reralize it's the assessor helping them when they come in,” incumbent Rose Ann Maine said. “The office of the assessor is, by law and state code, a full-time position.”
Debunking rumors that she would be “running the office by telephone,” Democrat Betty Reall vowed to “work more directly with the community to provide them with more information” about their taxes. She spoke of the possibility of having community meetings where she would go and meet with residents who might have questions about their taxes or certain forms.
In addition to those candidates, Mineral County Magistrate candidates David C. Harman and Sue Roby – both incumbents --  spoke briefly to the crowd.
“We are not allowed to promise you very much except that we will be honest and hard-working,” Harman said.
Roby agreed: “We can't promise anything except to do a good job and abide by the law.”
Donna Brake Kuhn, Democrat candidate for House of Delegates in the 48th District, told the crowd she has been an educator for 35 years, and she would like to take that experience to Charleston.
“I promise you I will work and I will listen,” she said. “I'm not a politician, I'm an educator. And I'd like the opportunity to go down there and educate the legislators about all the problems we have in the 48th District.”
Both candidates for the 14th State Senatorial District were present – Democrat Bob Williams and Republican Gary Howell.
Williams vowed to use his experience as a small business owner to help other small businesses in Mineral County to become more competitive in the marketplace, Quality health care, quality education, and better pay for the state's teachers were among his concerns.
Howell, also a small business owner, also talked about helping small businesses. His approach, however, was through easing the burden being placed on them by so many taxes.
“I want to cut the taxes now,” he said, including elimination of the retail taxes on food and the taxes on gasoline on his list of goals.
Noting that the state has a billion-dollar surplus, he suggested “taking some of that surplus and putting it into our roads.”