Does anyone else find it interesting that Governor Manchin obtained less than 75% of the vote on Saturday? This is a politician the media has all but crowned the next United States Senator from West Virginia. However, one in four Democrats who voted on Saturday chose another candidate. I know someone could same the same thing about John Raese, but John Raese hasn’t been held to the same standard as Governor Manchin. What are your thoughts?
According to the Charleston Gazette…
Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s office says it will not release the contents of federal subpoenas recently received by two of Gov. Joe Manchin’s cabinet agencies.
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Great job of our friends at West Virginia Watchdog for breaking the news story…
“Gov. Joe Manchin‘s office confirmed today that state government officials have been contacted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office this week regarding an ongoing investigation. The target may be Manchin himself, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous.”
“According to the government source, Manchin was subpoenaed as part of a federal grand jury investigation. The subpoenas asked for contracts and records for businesses that have done work at the governor’s mansion as well as provided services for parties there. The investigation is into whether Manchin has complied with bidding and state contract requirements.”
Read the full story on the West Virginia Watchdog website by clicking here.
As pointed out by the Weekly Standard this past weekend, Governor Joe Manchin has endorsed President Barack Obama’s health care reform legislation. You can watch the video of Governor Joe Manchin endorsing Obamacare by clicking here.
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The West Virginia Economic Development Authority has been authorize to issue $150 million in bonds to pay for the capital improvement projects this week.
The Governor’s office is controlling how the $150 million dollars are spent. Many of the projects recieving money will greatly benefit state residents, but there are a few projects that are absolutely 100% outrageous.
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The unemployment fund in the State of West Virginia is going broke as a result of the bad economy. Despite recent changes to increase funding sources, changes which many had hoped would help stabilize the fund, it’s not working.
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The State of West Virginia is preparing to spend $3.5 million to restore and renovate Holly Grove Mansion, the home which sits beside the Governor’s Mansion in the Capitol Complex in Charleston.
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Another West Virginia blogger, Hippie Killer, broke this story over a month ago. This past week the Charleston Gazette finally picked up on the details and wrote something.
There is something that sure smells fishy about the Governor moving the state’s technology agency from Morgantown to Charleston, especially when the move could hugely benefit the company where his daughter is an executive.
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A variety of political notes and thoughts for today…
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I guess Delegate “Beer Tax Bill” Hamilton and the 83 other Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates and the unknown number of Members of the West Virginia State Senate who supported the Governor’s bill to provide early parole for some criminals are not concerned with being painted as soft on crime this election cycle. Let the voters decide, here is the House Roll Call.
UPDATE: The Charleston Gazette’s Squawk Box Blog reports that an amendment was added to H.B. 4016 to to prohibit former legislators and executive branch officials and staffers from lobbying for one year after leaving public office.
The Governor gave his annual State of the State address last evening. I thought the speech was light on substance and featured a lot of talk about past accomplishments. What are your thoughts on the speech?
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The people of West Virginia are more in danger of harm during the sixty day period of the Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature than probably any other time of the year.
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The news that Larry Puccio, former chief of staff to Governor Joe Manchin, is very close to signing a contract to lobby for Penn National Gaming during the 2010 legislative session calls into question the ethics of Governor Joe Manchin and his administration.
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A Marshall University professor told a federal grand jury today that West Virginia Treasurer John Perdue and his wife both made sure she knew they were state officials when they contacted her on behalf of their daughter.
“Prosecutors nor the FBI will say whether they’re investigating the matter. But Joseph Ciccarelli, the FBI’s senior resident agent in Huntington, said Monday that any probe would focus on whether a public official did something a regular citizen could not because of their office.”
John Perdue thought he was Governor Joe Manchin when he contacted Marshall University about his daughter’s grades. Unfortunately, Perdue’s actions will likely hurt his 2012 campaign for Governor, which never really had any hope. This controversy pretty much extinguishes any possibility he will be the Democrat nominee in 2012.
