December 2, 2025 • 40 mins
Sawyer Dennison announces his run for the House of Delegates as a Republican in District 78.
Mike Oliverio, R, Monongalia, 13, announces his plans to run for reelection.
Mike Oliverio, R, Monongalia, 13, announces his plans to run for reelection.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Kluksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two five five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike Notlting.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good Monday morning. It is nine oh six, plenty of clouds,
thirty degrees in the University City. Welcome to the program.
I'm Mike Nolting. You'll find me out on x as
your news guy. I certainly hope to run into you
there producing this fine program. Today we have Sophia Wassick.
You'll be able to get Sophia at eight hundred seven
(00:45):
six five eight two five five. Of course, the text
line is at the ready for you the listener. That
number is three oh four Talk three oh four. Now.
Today on the program, we're going to be speaking with
young political upstart Sawyer Dennison. Saw your plans to challenge
(01:06):
seventy delegate from the seventy eighth district, Gino Shiarelli coming
up in the May primary. We're going to talk to
Sawyer find out where he is on the issues. At
nine thirty will welcome Mike Oliverio to the program, and
we'll get an important announcement from Senator Oliverio and also
(01:27):
a very important event, and I know that the Senator
will also want to comment on what's happening with West
Virginia National Guard, the death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and
the continued recovery of Staff Sergeant Andrew Woolf. That's the program.
Now let's take a look at a couple of headlines.
(01:50):
Welcome to December. First day of December one would typically
be joyful thoughts, but thoughts and prayers are continuing for
the families of the soldiers involved in the suspected terror
attack in Washington, Washington, DC. Last week. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom
died from her injuries Thanksgiving Day, Staff Sergeant Andrew wolf
(02:12):
He continues to fight for his life. The Governor will
be providing an update today at twelve thirty from the
state Capitol. You'll be able to get that at the
Governor's YouTube page, and of course you can read the
latest at wvmetronews dot com and keep it right here,
and we'll have an update after that twelve thirty press event.
(02:34):
High school football championships will be settled this weekend in
Class for A Action, Number one Morgantown will take on
number three Martinsburg at kickoff set for noon on Friday. Now,
Friday is going to be a very special day on
WAJAR because we've got some special pregame coverage for that
(02:55):
contest that will begin at eleven oh six on wah
Then later that day we've got Class A number three
Clay Battel. They're gonna lace them up and go against
Wheeling Central. That kickoff is set for seven o'clock on
Friday night. Both of those games will be live right
(03:16):
here on WAJR. Well via social media. The City of
Morgantown has announced plans to use the Public Safety Building
on Spruce Street as a twenty four hour, seven day
a week warming shelter. The post says the city will
operate that shelter there until additional space can be made
available by Catholic Charities. Officials said in that post that
(03:40):
the city recognizes the importance of providing this space during
adverse weather conditions and is committed to ensuring the safety
and well being of all residents and tonight it'll be
I'm sorry, Tomorrow night will be a big night on
the Campus of West Virginia Unify. It'll be the return
(04:02):
of the lighting of Woodburn Hall. Coming up tomorrow on
the program, we'll welcome WU President Michael T. Benson. He'll
join us at nine point fifteen. We'll be talking about
the lighting of Woodburn Hall. We'll also talk about, oh,
some proposed traffic changes up near the Mountain Lair. We'll
(04:23):
talk with the president about those things coming up tomorrow
on the program, and then of course tomorrow night at
six o'clock it'll be the lighting ceremony, And of course
looks like the weather will cooperate and certainly get us
in the mood for that National Weather Service as a
winter weather advisory that will go into effect at midnight
(04:46):
tonight for most of the state. Meteorologists say there's a
chance for mixed precipitation from midnight through tomorrow afternoon that
could include some ice and snow. Will maybe talk abo,
I got some forecast accumulations here. As we get a
little bit closer, I think they'll update that forecast ten
(05:08):
or eleven o'clock this morning, maybe we'll have a clearer
picture of what we can expect. Clouds thirty in the
University City when we come back. We're going to talk
with Republican Sawyer Dennison, who is challenging Republican Gino Shiarelli.
He is the House of Delegate member in the seventy
(05:28):
eighth district. Talk with Sawyer coming up next on Talk
of the Town AM fourteen forty FM one oh four
point five WAJR.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Now back to the Talk of the Town.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
A good morning. It is Monday, clouds thirty degrees in
the university's metro Newszaki Weather says today party sunny and
a high temperature of thirty seven degrees, and of course
we'll be watching that winter weather advisory in studio. We've
Sawyer Dennison with us. Good morning, Sawyer. How are you.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Oh, I'm doing terrific. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Hey, I'm doing fine, Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
Well.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Back in September, you announced plans to challenge incumbent Delegate
Genoshiarelli in the seventy eighth district. First off, congratulations for
making the decision to get involved in politics. So many
people aren't willing to do that.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Absolutely well, really, thank you for saying that it's a
decision that I don't take lightly. There is a lot
of sleepless nights, a lot of prayer. What originally wanted,
originally led me to run for office was the death
of Charlie Kirk. I had a background in politics. I
worked full time for Senator Chuck Grassley, I interned on
Capitol Hill, had some other internships with Governor morcyback when
(06:58):
he's Attorney General. But really I always wanted to be
a staffer. But then we saw a breaking point as
a country. Charlie unfortunately died, and in all semantic ways,
he was a political martyr. I truly believe that with
all of my heart. And from that second on I
knew that I needed to get involved in a higher capacity.
And so after a lot of thought, and after a
lot of really just praying and talking to my camp
(07:21):
and my family, we decided that this was the best next,
the next best thing to do.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Sorryer Dennison is with us, and he'll be challenging Delegate Gino.
She really in the seventy eighth district coming up in
the May primary. So you know, sorry, this is kind
of like a job interview. I think you'd agree with that.
So tell us a little bit about your work ethic
and work history.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Absolutely well, I do consider myself to be a hard worker.
I'm lifelong West Virginia, and when I worked for Senator Grassley,
eighty five hour work weeks were nothing out of the ordinary.
We were working on a campaign back then, and really,
I saw the Senator's vision. I knew that he was pure,
he was earnest, that he just wanted to get reelected
to enact President Trump's agenda, and so I took that
(08:03):
very seriously. I didn't take it for money. I didn't
take it for any kind of fame or success or
anything like that. I just truly wanted to help the Senator,
and I saw his vision of helping all Americans with affordability,
with a border crisis, with pertinent issues that affect us
every day at the gas pump. And so because of that,
I'm willing to work as hard as it takes on
the campaign trail. I'm knocking around I would say two
(08:26):
hundred and fifty to three hundred doors a week. I'm
doing public events on fundraising, I'm about to send out
Miller's and so really, I always say that running for
the House of Delegates is a full time job with
less than a full time job pay. And I really
consider that, because at the end of the day, I'm
not here to make money. I'm not here to make
friends down in Charleston. I just wanted to deliver results
(08:48):
to District seventy eight and all of the state as
a whole.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Sure, now, I'm sure a lot of people are wondering,
how does a guy in West Virginia end up being
a full time staffer for Chuck grass Grassarly, a Senator
from Iowa.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Well, absolutely, sometimes I wanted that myself. Really, I would
just say the Senator is committed to giving young people
opportunities when they're willing to work for it. He had
saw that I had a work ethic when I was
interning on Capitol Hill, became interested in that, and I
was able to get a job working for him. I'm
very blessed because of that, And I would just like
to say that I think that in some ways proves
(09:25):
that I'm willing to go the extra mile, because when
I worked on Capitol Hill, I was willing to shake
every hand, talk to every person, really, just talk about
my conservative agenda and the conservative agenda that we need
in the future as well.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Sorryer Dennison is with us, and now Sawyer I think
we know that the death, the assassination of Charlie Kirk
really was the catalyst for for you to throw your
hat in the ring. But if we could get maybe
down to a little bit more granular level, what's the
difference between you and Geno?
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Absolutely well, I would say just that at the end
of the day, I'm a fighter. If Gino was the person,
if he ran on the policies now that he originally
ran on back when he first got elected, I would
not be in this race at all. I would consider
him to be a good Republican voting with a conservative agenda.
But the thing is that's just changed now. He's voting
for climate change regulations, he's voting against medical freedom. He's
(10:18):
even trapped in committees' bills to expand gun rights and
to ban the abortion pill. And so as a conservative
that somebody that's very socially and economically conservative, as myself,
I stand for nothing except America first. I want a
politician that's good on every issue, and I think that
they don't have a right to be in office. I
think that elections are accountability and we need to view
(10:39):
them as that, because at the end of the day,
if we just stop caring about who's in. If we
stop turning out, if only forty percent of us vote
in elections and we don't read Meller's or we don't
talk to politicians or go to events, then our country
is lost because these issues they go down to a
state level. We can gripe about DC, we can gripe
about senators, we can gripe about all of the national politics.
(11:00):
But if you want a state that has cheap gas prices,
if you want a state that has low taxes, that
doesn't have a property tax, all of this stuff goes
down and boils down to the state level. And so
it's districts of seventeen thousand people where every single voter
has a tremendous amount of influence. And I think that
those blocks of voters are ready to reject Geno. There's
been a lot of talk about the people being upset
(11:21):
with him because he's turned in Toto, the establishment and
really just turned his back on constituents. And so I
think the district as a whole is ready to turn
I'm the more conservative option, and I think that's who
we'll choose on May.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Okay, just about sixty days ago, you released you had
a press release that said that it was your intention
to eliminate the personal income tax in the state of
West Virginia. I think you called it theft.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Is that right, absolutely?
Speaker 4 (11:47):
And I stand by that fully. I think that it
is theft because right now we run a budget surveplus.
We do very good And I would also even wager
that if we are to eliminate that we would see
increases in other forms of tax revenue. And what I
mean by that, I know it sounds a little crazy,
thinking if you lower taxes, how is tax revenue going
to increase? Well, I would just say, look at President
Reagan's administration. They brought about the biggest tax cuts in
(12:11):
the modern world at the time, and because of that,
they saw tax revenue increase as a whole. And the
reason for that is because people, when they're well off,
they're able to pay more taxes in other areas and
they have more money in their pockets to spend. And
so we really need to incentivize circulating money throughout the economy,
and the best way to do that is to let
people keep their money. At the end of the day,
the federal government, they take enough of our money, and
(12:32):
who knows how they use it, I couldn't tell you.
I don't think anyone could tell us fully. And so
I don't think that the state should be contributing to
that where a small state. Let's look at states like
Tennessee or Florida or Texas. They don't have the personal
income tax, and they do better economically than we do.
And so I think it's just a sham. I think
it's just an opportunity for tyranny to rise. And in
order to defeat these despots, we need to tackle taxes
(12:57):
head on, and we need to also tackle the budget
issue because these two things go hand in hand, because
right now the politicians and the political class can use
our spending as an opportunity to justify relentless taxation.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
We excuse me, tell us how we get to that point?
How do we get to the point where we can
completely eliminate the personal income tax at a time when
peia is a problem, teachers need more money, school systems
are consolidating, ems, organizations are folding because of financial problems.
(13:35):
That there are a lot of funding issues out there,
And how would you go about cutting revenue and then
maybe try to address some of these other issues?
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Absolutely and I would say that the solution is twofold.
The first part of the solution is personnel, because at
the end of the day, right now, we have a
political class in Charleston that is not looking out for
our best values. I love Governor Morrisey. I think he's
done a good job, but right now the House it's
very divided. It's about almost a fifty to fifty split
evenly between America First and Rhinos. And so we have
(14:06):
to go beyond voting for Republicans. At the end of
the day, we can vote for Republicans every single election
and things won't change. And the reason because that is
it goes farther beyond that. It goes down to ideology.
We need to look at these people. We need to say,
how are they voting before twenty fourteen when we flipped
the legislature, before they got scared that they were going
to lose their jobs. A lot of these people are
(14:27):
just fakers, and they're just liars to be frank, they
don't believe what they say, and their voting record proves that.
And so we have to go beyond the voting record.
And then the second issue is we have to know
where to cut bureaucracy. I agree that teachers and police
officers are underpaid, and we have a lot of expenses
that we have to provide throughout the state. We have
a lot of people that we have to help, and
(14:49):
to be able to do that, we have to cut
through the bureaucracy. If you look at the schooling system,
there's a lot of bureaucrats that get paid a lot
more than teachers. We need to cut down their salaries,
their six figure salaries or near that, and we need
to be given that to teachers or just saving that
so that we can tax people less at the end
of the day.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Sorry, your Dennison is with us, and he'll be challenging
Gino Shiarelli in District seventy eight. You'll be one of
one hundred if you're elected. And if you go in
with an extreme position like that, and you know you're
talking about maybe your fellow colleagues being liars and you know,
(15:27):
somewhat less than honest, how would you expect to be
able to maybe convince them of some of your positions.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Well, right now, it's really just the threat of force.
And I don't mean that physically obviously, I mean that
through reelections. Because right now we're getting closer and closer
to an America First majority, and the people on the
America First side, I would say they largely agree with
me on these issues. We're not going to be able
to convince the establishment. We might be able to on
some minor issues, but the end of the day, they're
(15:57):
going to die on these hills, and so we have
to tell them, either vote or we're gonna reelect you.
We're going to put funds into your race, We're going
to tell people, we're gonna rally crowds, we're gonna rally fundraising,
and doing that will ultimately take out the rhinos, and
it will give them incentive to either vote the right
way or give up their seat. And so I really
think it's just a matter of putting them in a
shoehorned position where they have to either vote right or
(16:19):
we'll find somebody else. We can't give up because if
we give up an inch, they'll take a mile. We've
seen that through America. I don't think anyone thinks America
now is nicer than it was in the nineties or
in the eighties, and that's because we just have given
up inches and they've taken up miles. We have to
stay hardcore on our beliefs. I always say, we can
look at Republicans like Gino if we just value him
(16:41):
winning and that's all, Then what's the point of that
if we give up our values in the process, because
he totally did that with medical freedom, with abortion, with
gun rights, with climate change. What's the point of winning
if we don't have the values of the Republican Party anymore.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
I noticed that when you've made your announcement back in September,
you're in intent was to run in District eighty. Now
the switch to seventy eight help us understand that move?
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Yeah, absolutely so. A lot of it is personal. My
apartment got flooded, I had to move, had a lot
of issues, and because of that, I moved down off
Scott Avenue in District seventy eight. I had prayed about
that beyond that to figure out what was the next step,
really just looking at Gino's record, talking to my family,
and from that I decided still running was the best
(17:28):
thing I could do. And I could not run in
District eighty ethically because I want to live in the
district of the people that I represent.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
At the end of the day.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
That's my biggest concern being one of the district having
the same problems, having the same successes as the district.
And so because of that, I decided District seventy eight
was the next best step.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Okay, now, how can people get more information about you?
And what kind of campaign events do you have maybe
in the next few weeks.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Well, the first step is my website, Saw your Donnis
in w V. That's s A w y E R
D E n I s O n w V dot com.
You can see all updates there. You can follow me
on social media to just if you search all your
dnnis and you'll find me. We're having some events. I'll
be doing an event in January really to honor veterans
(18:18):
and kick off the campaign. And besides that, I'll probably
be knocking on your door. I'm planning to knock over
four thousand doors before May, ten thousand doors. This whole
elections like one general. So really I'm gonna be talking
to a huge chunk of the district, the huge chunk
of the Republicans, and so i'd really just say stay
tuned on my social media. We're gonna be having a
lot of events. It's going to be a very high energy,
(18:39):
high powered campaign overall.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Now, if someone wanted to make contact with you, have
a conversation with you, is there a number somebody could
call and get you.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Absolutely, So you can go to my to my website
for my phone number or my email address, and I'll
even just give out my phone number now, it's three
zero four seven to one nine two three three four.
I've an open door policy with any constituent. I always
tell constituents you can call me at three AM. I
might be a little mentally clouded, but I'll still answer
(19:11):
and I'll still answer to the best of my capabilities
if you have any questions. So feel free anyone to
call or text that number at any time, and I'd
love to hear your concerns or your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Okay, perfect, saw your Dennison. Appreciate you coming in today, sir, Thank.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You very much.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Absolutely, it was an honor and I enjoyed our conversation absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Okay. Coming up next, I'm gonna spend a few minutes
with State Senator Mike Olaverio from the thirteenth District, and
we'll find out what is on his schedule and the
latest up that is happening with Senator Oliverio. That's coming
up next. Now, let's see coming up at twelve thirty today,
the governor will be holding a press conference. It'll have
(19:49):
an update on the attack on West Virginia National Guard
soldiers in the nation's capital.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
We are talking about your town.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Now back to the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Well, good Monday morning, clouds and thirty degrees. It is
nine to thirty five in the University City. On the phone,
we've got State Senator Mike Oliverio from the thirteenth District.
Good morning, Mike, how are you.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Hey, great Mike, Good morning to you, sir.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It's a pleasure to have you on the program now.
As a veteran of the West Virginia National Guard, I'm
sure that you would probably like to start this conversation
with some comments about that.
Speaker 5 (20:45):
Yes, Sir, I served in the Army Reserves, just a
little different than the Guard. But I really wanted to
offer my condolences and prayers to US Army Specialist Sarah Bestram,
a Webster County native, who lost her life last week,
(21:05):
just a tragic shooting, and also just to offer our
continued prayers for US Air Force staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe
twenty four years old. You know, they were attempting to
protect Washington, d C. And create an environment where the
citizen's there and all those that visit from around the
(21:27):
world could be safe. And they found themselves in a
very dangerous place. And just our prayers go out to
their families. And I just set a tragedy, just cast
such a pay all over the holidays, and I hope
this young man can come through this. I understand from
(21:48):
what we've been told, these are very serious injuries he suffered.
But we thank all of those in uniform that have
served us in the past and those still serving today.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
And let us not forget that staff Sergeant wolf and
Specialist Beckstrom represent the one percent of young people that
are willing to volunteer to defend their country.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
That's right, that's right. It's a special group. And you know,
for fifty years now we've been an all volunteer force,
and I think that really speaks to our nation's history
that we've been able to do that with people simply
willing to serve. And for me, it was the highest
honor of my life to where the uniform of my
(22:33):
country and serve in the United States Army. I was
at seventeen, I signed up as an ROTC cadet and
worked through that program and became an Army officer, And
it was an incredible experience, and to be honest, every
day putting on that green uniform gave me a sense
of pride and fulfillment being able to serve my country.
(22:55):
And I know other veterans that are listening experience that
as well.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
State Senator Michaelaverio is with us, and Mike could tell
us a little bit about your political future.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
Well, thanks, Mike. I have really enjoyed serving in the
State Senate. I was out for several years and decided
to pursue this line of work again back in twenty
twenty two and was elected to the Senate, my fifth
time elected to the Senate after serving four terms previously.
(23:30):
And I've really enjoyed these past three years in the
Senate and have decided to seek reelection in the twenty
twenty sixth election cycle and would ask for the support
of my constituents as we move forward into this next
legislative session the first next month, and to ask for
their support in the May and November elections of twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Six State Senator Mike Alverio is with us, and I
know Mike that during those three years in the Senate,
one of the things that has been brought up when
you and I have talked is the fact that the
personal income tax has been cut by about twenty seven
and a quarter percent since March of twenty twenty three,
(24:13):
and I know that that's a number that you're pretty
proud of.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
You know, we're making progress there. I think people need
to understand that everything we do in West Virginia is
not done in a vacuum, and that we have five
bordering states around us, and in order for us to
remain competitive, we need to keep an eye on what
those other states are doing. And bringing down our personal
income tax makes our state more attractive to people thinking
(24:39):
about moving here and makes it easier for people living
here to reduce their tax burden. So, yes, we've made progress.
We've done it through a couple of cuts over the
past few years, and I'm proud of that. There's so
much more that needs to be done, but that is
one step that will help us recruit. You know, we're
(25:02):
really upside down in West Virginia with respect to our demographics,
where we have about twenty five thousand people die every
year and about nineteen thousand born every year, and because
of that, we start each year down about six thousand
people in population, and that's before the first U haul
comes in or out. And we just need to be
(25:23):
doing the kinds of things that will attract people to
West Virginia, attract those to stay, and attract those to
come here. And income tax is one of those factors
that people look at when deciding where they want to live.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
State Senator Michaelaveria is with us. So now, Mike, let's
talk a little bit about the state budget. The spending
plan this year. It's about five billion dollars. I know
that the budget has always been very very important to you,
as well as cutting taxes. I guess, how do you
juggle all these priorities and continue the downward trend in
(25:59):
personal income tax?
Speaker 5 (26:02):
Well, your priorities really come out with respect to your budget.
And so we spend almost half of our general revenue
dollars half of that five billion on public education. And
that's very important to us and very important to me personally.
I'm a product of Montagay County Schools and one of
the things we did there recently was we passed the
(26:24):
Third Grade Success Act, where in that act, we have
put teacher aides in every first grade, second grade, and
third grade classroom in West Virginia to help those children
learn to read. And we have discovered, as have others
around the country, that if by the end of the
third grade you don't know how to read, you're in trouble.
(26:47):
So we want to focus first grade, second grade, and
third grade learning to read and so that then in
fourth grade students can begin to read to learn. And
this has required an enormous commitment, an additional one hundred
million dollars, and we've made that commitment in hopes of
improving our children's success in life.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
You know, Mike, I know that the DOH has been
of I wouldn't say concerned, but I think it's been
of interest to you. And you've been able to forge
some public private partnerships when it comes to ditching, and
I think you're instrumental. And what's happening in Mond County
now with the volunteer groups and the unions that are
(27:28):
cleaning medians and public right of ways and things like that.
So what's next? What would you like to see next?
From the doh.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Well great cooperation from doh and I brought the doh
officials from Clarksburg in Morgantown. I brought them to a
city council work session, got everybody introduced, tried to get
beyond some of the acrimony and get people working together.
Our county commissioners have been exceptional to work with the
(27:58):
past three years. Tom Bloom came to me with this
Harmony Grove exit idea that had been lingering for a while,
and we've been working on that. Jeff Arnette, Shan Sikora
have just been tremendous to work with on our Star
city exits are you know the West Westover area. You know,
we have completed some significant projects that our citizens have
(28:20):
endured quite a bit of pain the past three years,
but we've gotten the ball across the end zone and
places like Westover are an example of that and more
to do. So I think we'll continue to work. We
very much want that Harmony Grove exit, and if we're
going to create meaningful jobs in Montague County with meaningful
wages and benefits and retirements, we need more people working
(28:45):
in that industrial park because those are jobs that pay
really good wages. And the way we grow the Morgantown
Industrial Park is we improve access to that off of
the interstate. So the Harmony Grove exit is important. It
means so much to our community, and we're working on that.
We've had some positive improvements on that project even just
(29:07):
the last few weeks. So continue to work with these
county commissioners, work with our DOH officials, our local officials,
and those in our district office in Clarksburg, and try
to keep our county going in the right direction. Because
the reality is, you know, we're a county of you know,
one hundred and ten thousand people roughly, and as we
get more folks in here, more people working more wages,
(29:28):
then we share the expenses of our utilities and everything.
So that's what we're trying to do here in Mont County.
And then I also represent Marion County and a lot
of the same things are true there. We're working on
a lot of projects in Marion County. One of the
things that Faremont State's done for us is they've stepped
up and agreed to help with foster kids, and I
(29:52):
was able to secure four hundred thousand dollars to help
Fairmont State establish what's called a middle college, and if
the classes are conducted and on the campus oft Premont State,
and they're designed to help foster students who really don't
have family and have provide them a place to live
year round. And you know, foster kids only graduate about
(30:12):
fifty percent. I'm graduated high school and only about four
percent graduate from college. And so we need to be
doing things to help these foster kids. Some of them
are out of state. We need to bring them home,
protect them and give them every opportunity for success.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
State Senator Mike ol Lavaria was with us. And now,
you know, out here in the I wouldn't want to
use the word in the margins, but it seems like
it's been kicked around a while, and that is PEIA.
Lots of folks are hungry for a solution, and I
know that you know you're probably one of those people,
but that solution appears to be elusive to either side
(30:49):
of anybody that you talk to on this issue.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
Right. The first priority of PIA is making sure we
have a strong healthcare system to be able to treat
those public employees and all the citizens. And so you know,
we worked hard to protect w medicine and Vandelia Health,
which in our area operates on general and you know,
my colleague and the legislature there, Gino Chiarelli, has been
(31:15):
awesome to work with and to help us protect these
healthcare institutions against attack. And the attack is an effort
to repeal the certificate of Need, which would really punish
our local hospital systems and give an unfair advantage to
those coming in from out of state. So Geno has
been great to work with on that. As for PIA
(31:36):
in general, the state needs to step up our contribution.
We can't continue to expect more and more from the
public employees, whose wages have been fairly stagnant. There have
been some modest increases, but not significant enough to keep
up with the increases in the premiums. And it's a
problem that exists really throughout our economy. But we're the
(31:59):
employer in this case, so it's a little different than
other employees. We've got to step up and provide some
additional dollars in the way of wages to our public
employees and in the way of helping with the premiums.
And if we don't do that, we're not going to
have public employees. We're not going to have folks teaching.
We're not going to have folks driving buses, working in
(32:20):
our cafeterias and our schools, working on our roads. All
of us want somebody out there with a snowplow later
this month when the sets snow and ice gets bad.
But if we don't keep up with wages and benefits,
we're going to be in real trouble.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
State Senator Mike Olaverio is with us, and Mike has
announced his intentions to run for reelection in District thirteen.
Another issue that you've been somewhat vocal about has been
broadband expansion. You're in the state of West Virginia and
you've tied that directly to economic development.
Speaker 5 (32:55):
Yeah, we're fortunate one of our senators, Robbie Morris from ELK,
has been tremendous on that issue. Just the whole area
of infrastructure, broadband, all that kind of ties together. And
where I've tried to work in the infrastructure area and
the doh area is in the area of these privatizing efforts,
(33:17):
and we were able to get some privatizing dollars where
we went out to the private sector for ditching like
you mentioned earlier, and that was the successful effort Montinge
County and my colleague David McCormick from Montague County began
working on an issue that we jumped in and helped with,
where we've been able to get a pilot project for
(33:37):
Montngelia and Preston County where we'll have private companies we'll
be doing snow and ice removal, and that project's been
completed and now it's available so as snow and ice
start to accumulate Montingae County, we will have support in
addition to the traditional doh trucks, and we think that's
(33:58):
going to be helpful, help that project works, and maybe
we'll be emulated around the state. But we're fortunate that
with David McCormick's leadership and all of us as a
delegation working together, we're going to have that in place
now and we'll get to see how that works. And
I'm just so fortunate in this district to serve with
great folks. You know that third Grade Success Act. One
(34:19):
of the big drivers of that was Delegate Joe Statler,
and it was something that he'd been interested in for years.
And so we've got a strong legislative delegation working together
with our county officials. We work with our city officials
when we can. Admittedly we don't.
Speaker 6 (34:35):
Always agree with everything they're doing, and we raise our
concerns when we have them. But there are places where
we can work together and we've tried to do that,
and one of those places is the infrastructure road issues.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Michaelaverio running for reelection in District thirteen. Where will we
see you on the campaign trail next?
Speaker 5 (34:56):
Well, we're going to start with some campaign fundraising here. Uh,
that's an unfortunate part of elections, but uh, but we'll
be we'll be doing that and uh and then you
know it won't be long. We'll be we'll be off
to the legislative sessions and people can you know, people
can reach me at the legislature and hope they will,
(35:18):
hope they will, you know, go on to the legislative website,
Uh to reach us there. I enjoy serving, always enjoy,
you know, the feedback that I get from my constituents.
My my phone number there in the Capitol is three
O four three five seven seven nine one nine, And
(35:38):
folks can reach me there during the legislative session or
simply send an email to Mike dot Oliverio at w
V Senate dot gov. That's Mike dot Oliverio at w
V Senate dot gov.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
All right, good deal. Well Mike, we certainly appreciate your
time here this morning and good luck.
Speaker 5 (35:59):
Thank you, Mike.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Absolutely you take care of yourself. Clouds thirty degrees. Be
back to begin the wrap up process after this, I'll
talk of the town AM fourteen forty f m one
oh four point five w AJR.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
This is the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Well, good Monday morning, Clouds and thirty degrees. Metro Newsaki
Weather says partly sunny today and a high of thirty
seven degrees. That's as the state continues to mourn the
loss of West Virginia Army National Guard specialist Sarah Bestrom
and also continues to pull for the health of Staff
(36:54):
Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, who continues to battle his injuries. Coming
up Z six on Metro News talk Line, David tj
W'll be talking with Gabriel Markle. It's the Webster County
High School principal where Sarah Bestrom was a student, that
is coming up at ten oh six today, at twelve thirty,
(37:17):
Governor Morrissey will be providing an update on that shooting
and the investigation. You'll do that at twelve thirty today
from the State Capitol, and of course we will carry
that event. No, we will not carry that event live,
but you'll be able to get that event live at
the Governor's YouTube page. And of course we'll have a
(37:37):
read out on that event coming up as it unfolds
later this afternoon. Right now, clouds thirty degrees make it
a great Monday Metro news talk line coming up next
on the Voice of Morgantown one oh four point five
FM and AM fourteen forty WAJR.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Now back to the Talk of the Town.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Well, good Monday morning. It is the first of December,
and don't forget that the Morgantown Utility Board, despite the holidays,
they are certainly going to be busy throughout the city.
A couple of projects of note, one on North High
Street where they'll be doing a complete reconstruction. Parada Paving
will be doing that work. They'll go all the way
(38:33):
down to the brick, remove the bricks and then replace
that with a brand new driving surface. Now a contractor
working for the Morgantown Utility Board is going to begin
some inspection, cleaning and some repairs in sanitary sewer system
in the Evansdale area. Those improvements or that work today
(38:57):
will be on Vasser Street between Raleigh Lane and Dudley Avenue.
Now MOB officials say that at the end of each workday,
any excavated area will be backfilled or it will be
covered with road plates in order to maintain traffic in
the area and of course, winter storm. Winter Weather Advisory
(39:21):
goes into effect at midnight tonight and will have updates
as they are available. Metro News talk Line coming up
next on the Voice of Morgantown one oh four point
five FM and AM fourteen forty WAJR, The Voice of
Morgantown
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Kluksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two five five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike Notlting.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good Monday morning. It is nine oh six, plenty of clouds,
thirty degrees in the University City. Welcome to the program.
I'm Mike Nolting. You'll find me out on x as
your news guy. I certainly hope to run into you
there producing this fine program. Today we have Sophia Wassick.
You'll be able to get Sophia at eight hundred seven
(00:45):
six five eight two five five. Of course, the text
line is at the ready for you the listener. That
number is three oh four Talk three oh four. Now.
Today on the program, we're going to be speaking with
young political upstart Sawyer Dennison. Saw your plans to challenge
(01:06):
seventy delegate from the seventy eighth district, Gino Shiarelli coming
up in the May primary. We're going to talk to
Sawyer find out where he is on the issues. At
nine thirty will welcome Mike Oliverio to the program, and
we'll get an important announcement from Senator Oliverio and also
(01:27):
a very important event, and I know that the Senator
will also want to comment on what's happening with West
Virginia National Guard, the death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and
the continued recovery of Staff Sergeant Andrew Woolf. That's the program.
Now let's take a look at a couple of headlines.
(01:50):
Welcome to December. First day of December one would typically
be joyful thoughts, but thoughts and prayers are continuing for
the families of the soldiers involved in the suspected terror
attack in Washington, Washington, DC. Last week. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom
died from her injuries Thanksgiving Day, Staff Sergeant Andrew wolf
(02:12):
He continues to fight for his life. The Governor will
be providing an update today at twelve thirty from the
state Capitol. You'll be able to get that at the
Governor's YouTube page, and of course you can read the
latest at wvmetronews dot com and keep it right here,
and we'll have an update after that twelve thirty press event.
(02:34):
High school football championships will be settled this weekend in
Class for A Action, Number one Morgantown will take on
number three Martinsburg at kickoff set for noon on Friday. Now,
Friday is going to be a very special day on
WAJAR because we've got some special pregame coverage for that
(02:55):
contest that will begin at eleven oh six on wah
Then later that day we've got Class A number three
Clay Battel. They're gonna lace them up and go against
Wheeling Central. That kickoff is set for seven o'clock on
Friday night. Both of those games will be live right
(03:16):
here on WAJR. Well via social media. The City of
Morgantown has announced plans to use the Public Safety Building
on Spruce Street as a twenty four hour, seven day
a week warming shelter. The post says the city will
operate that shelter there until additional space can be made
available by Catholic Charities. Officials said in that post that
(03:40):
the city recognizes the importance of providing this space during
adverse weather conditions and is committed to ensuring the safety
and well being of all residents and tonight it'll be
I'm sorry, Tomorrow night will be a big night on
the Campus of West Virginia Unify. It'll be the return
(04:02):
of the lighting of Woodburn Hall. Coming up tomorrow on
the program, we'll welcome WU President Michael T. Benson. He'll
join us at nine point fifteen. We'll be talking about
the lighting of Woodburn Hall. We'll also talk about, oh,
some proposed traffic changes up near the Mountain Lair. We'll
(04:23):
talk with the president about those things coming up tomorrow
on the program, and then of course tomorrow night at
six o'clock it'll be the lighting ceremony, And of course
looks like the weather will cooperate and certainly get us
in the mood for that National Weather Service as a
winter weather advisory that will go into effect at midnight
(04:46):
tonight for most of the state. Meteorologists say there's a
chance for mixed precipitation from midnight through tomorrow afternoon that
could include some ice and snow. Will maybe talk abo,
I got some forecast accumulations here. As we get a
little bit closer, I think they'll update that forecast ten
(05:08):
or eleven o'clock this morning, maybe we'll have a clearer
picture of what we can expect. Clouds thirty in the
University City when we come back. We're going to talk
with Republican Sawyer Dennison, who is challenging Republican Gino Shiarelli.
He is the House of Delegate member in the seventy
(05:28):
eighth district. Talk with Sawyer coming up next on Talk
of the Town AM fourteen forty FM one oh four
point five WAJR.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Now back to the Talk of the Town.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
A good morning. It is Monday, clouds thirty degrees in
the university's metro Newszaki Weather says today party sunny and
a high temperature of thirty seven degrees, and of course
we'll be watching that winter weather advisory in studio. We've
Sawyer Dennison with us. Good morning, Sawyer. How are you.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Oh, I'm doing terrific. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Hey, I'm doing fine, Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
Well.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Back in September, you announced plans to challenge incumbent Delegate
Genoshiarelli in the seventy eighth district. First off, congratulations for
making the decision to get involved in politics. So many
people aren't willing to do that.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Absolutely well, really, thank you for saying that it's a
decision that I don't take lightly. There is a lot
of sleepless nights, a lot of prayer. What originally wanted,
originally led me to run for office was the death
of Charlie Kirk. I had a background in politics. I
worked full time for Senator Chuck Grassley, I interned on
Capitol Hill, had some other internships with Governor morcyback when
(06:58):
he's Attorney General. But really I always wanted to be
a staffer. But then we saw a breaking point as
a country. Charlie unfortunately died, and in all semantic ways,
he was a political martyr. I truly believe that with
all of my heart. And from that second on I
knew that I needed to get involved in a higher capacity.
And so after a lot of thought, and after a
lot of really just praying and talking to my camp
(07:21):
and my family, we decided that this was the best next,
the next best thing to do.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Sorryer Dennison is with us, and he'll be challenging Delegate Gino.
She really in the seventy eighth district coming up in
the May primary. So you know, sorry, this is kind
of like a job interview. I think you'd agree with that.
So tell us a little bit about your work ethic
and work history.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Absolutely well, I do consider myself to be a hard worker.
I'm lifelong West Virginia, and when I worked for Senator Grassley,
eighty five hour work weeks were nothing out of the ordinary.
We were working on a campaign back then, and really,
I saw the Senator's vision. I knew that he was pure,
he was earnest, that he just wanted to get reelected
to enact President Trump's agenda, and so I took that
(08:03):
very seriously. I didn't take it for money. I didn't
take it for any kind of fame or success or
anything like that. I just truly wanted to help the Senator,
and I saw his vision of helping all Americans with affordability,
with a border crisis, with pertinent issues that affect us
every day at the gas pump. And so because of that,
I'm willing to work as hard as it takes on
the campaign trail. I'm knocking around I would say two
(08:26):
hundred and fifty to three hundred doors a week. I'm
doing public events on fundraising, I'm about to send out
Miller's and so really, I always say that running for
the House of Delegates is a full time job with
less than a full time job pay. And I really
consider that, because at the end of the day, I'm
not here to make money. I'm not here to make
friends down in Charleston. I just wanted to deliver results
(08:48):
to District seventy eight and all of the state as
a whole.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Sure, now, I'm sure a lot of people are wondering,
how does a guy in West Virginia end up being
a full time staffer for Chuck grass Grassarly, a Senator
from Iowa.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Well, absolutely, sometimes I wanted that myself. Really, I would
just say the Senator is committed to giving young people
opportunities when they're willing to work for it. He had
saw that I had a work ethic when I was
interning on Capitol Hill, became interested in that, and I
was able to get a job working for him. I'm
very blessed because of that, And I would just like
to say that I think that in some ways proves
(09:25):
that I'm willing to go the extra mile, because when
I worked on Capitol Hill, I was willing to shake
every hand, talk to every person, really, just talk about
my conservative agenda and the conservative agenda that we need
in the future as well.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Sorryer Dennison is with us, and now Sawyer I think
we know that the death, the assassination of Charlie Kirk
really was the catalyst for for you to throw your
hat in the ring. But if we could get maybe
down to a little bit more granular level, what's the
difference between you and Geno?
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Absolutely well, I would say just that at the end
of the day, I'm a fighter. If Gino was the person,
if he ran on the policies now that he originally
ran on back when he first got elected, I would
not be in this race at all. I would consider
him to be a good Republican voting with a conservative agenda.
But the thing is that's just changed now. He's voting
for climate change regulations, he's voting against medical freedom. He's
(10:18):
even trapped in committees' bills to expand gun rights and
to ban the abortion pill. And so as a conservative
that somebody that's very socially and economically conservative, as myself,
I stand for nothing except America first. I want a
politician that's good on every issue, and I think that
they don't have a right to be in office. I
think that elections are accountability and we need to view
(10:39):
them as that, because at the end of the day,
if we just stop caring about who's in. If we
stop turning out, if only forty percent of us vote
in elections and we don't read Meller's or we don't
talk to politicians or go to events, then our country
is lost because these issues they go down to a
state level. We can gripe about DC, we can gripe
about senators, we can gripe about all of the national politics.
(11:00):
But if you want a state that has cheap gas prices,
if you want a state that has low taxes, that
doesn't have a property tax, all of this stuff goes
down and boils down to the state level. And so
it's districts of seventeen thousand people where every single voter
has a tremendous amount of influence. And I think that
those blocks of voters are ready to reject Geno. There's
been a lot of talk about the people being upset
(11:21):
with him because he's turned in Toto, the establishment and
really just turned his back on constituents. And so I
think the district as a whole is ready to turn
I'm the more conservative option, and I think that's who
we'll choose on May.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Okay, just about sixty days ago, you released you had
a press release that said that it was your intention
to eliminate the personal income tax in the state of
West Virginia. I think you called it theft.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Is that right, absolutely?
Speaker 4 (11:47):
And I stand by that fully. I think that it
is theft because right now we run a budget surveplus.
We do very good And I would also even wager
that if we are to eliminate that we would see
increases in other forms of tax revenue. And what I
mean by that, I know it sounds a little crazy,
thinking if you lower taxes, how is tax revenue going
to increase? Well, I would just say, look at President
Reagan's administration. They brought about the biggest tax cuts in
(12:11):
the modern world at the time, and because of that,
they saw tax revenue increase as a whole. And the
reason for that is because people, when they're well off,
they're able to pay more taxes in other areas and
they have more money in their pockets to spend. And
so we really need to incentivize circulating money throughout the economy,
and the best way to do that is to let
people keep their money. At the end of the day,
the federal government, they take enough of our money, and
(12:32):
who knows how they use it, I couldn't tell you.
I don't think anyone could tell us fully. And so
I don't think that the state should be contributing to
that where a small state. Let's look at states like
Tennessee or Florida or Texas. They don't have the personal
income tax, and they do better economically than we do.
And so I think it's just a sham. I think
it's just an opportunity for tyranny to rise. And in
order to defeat these despots, we need to tackle taxes
(12:57):
head on, and we need to also tackle the budget
issue because these two things go hand in hand, because
right now the politicians and the political class can use
our spending as an opportunity to justify relentless taxation.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
We excuse me, tell us how we get to that point?
How do we get to the point where we can
completely eliminate the personal income tax at a time when
peia is a problem, teachers need more money, school systems
are consolidating, ems, organizations are folding because of financial problems.
(13:35):
That there are a lot of funding issues out there,
And how would you go about cutting revenue and then
maybe try to address some of these other issues?
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Absolutely and I would say that the solution is twofold.
The first part of the solution is personnel, because at
the end of the day, right now, we have a
political class in Charleston that is not looking out for
our best values. I love Governor Morrisey. I think he's
done a good job, but right now the House it's
very divided. It's about almost a fifty to fifty split
evenly between America First and Rhinos. And so we have
(14:06):
to go beyond voting for Republicans. At the end of
the day, we can vote for Republicans every single election
and things won't change. And the reason because that is
it goes farther beyond that. It goes down to ideology.
We need to look at these people. We need to say,
how are they voting before twenty fourteen when we flipped
the legislature, before they got scared that they were going
to lose their jobs. A lot of these people are
(14:27):
just fakers, and they're just liars to be frank, they
don't believe what they say, and their voting record proves that.
And so we have to go beyond the voting record.
And then the second issue is we have to know
where to cut bureaucracy. I agree that teachers and police
officers are underpaid, and we have a lot of expenses
that we have to provide throughout the state. We have
a lot of people that we have to help, and
(14:49):
to be able to do that, we have to cut
through the bureaucracy. If you look at the schooling system,
there's a lot of bureaucrats that get paid a lot
more than teachers. We need to cut down their salaries,
their six figure salaries or near that, and we need
to be given that to teachers or just saving that
so that we can tax people less at the end
of the day.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Sorry, your Dennison is with us, and he'll be challenging
Gino Shiarelli in District seventy eight. You'll be one of
one hundred if you're elected. And if you go in
with an extreme position like that, and you know you're
talking about maybe your fellow colleagues being liars and you know,
(15:27):
somewhat less than honest, how would you expect to be
able to maybe convince them of some of your positions.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Well, right now, it's really just the threat of force.
And I don't mean that physically obviously, I mean that
through reelections. Because right now we're getting closer and closer
to an America First majority, and the people on the
America First side, I would say they largely agree with
me on these issues. We're not going to be able
to convince the establishment. We might be able to on
some minor issues, but the end of the day, they're
(15:57):
going to die on these hills, and so we have
to tell them, either vote or we're gonna reelect you.
We're going to put funds into your race, We're going
to tell people, we're gonna rally crowds, we're gonna rally fundraising,
and doing that will ultimately take out the rhinos, and
it will give them incentive to either vote the right
way or give up their seat. And so I really
think it's just a matter of putting them in a
shoehorned position where they have to either vote right or
(16:19):
we'll find somebody else. We can't give up because if
we give up an inch, they'll take a mile. We've
seen that through America. I don't think anyone thinks America
now is nicer than it was in the nineties or
in the eighties, and that's because we just have given
up inches and they've taken up miles. We have to
stay hardcore on our beliefs. I always say, we can
look at Republicans like Gino if we just value him
(16:41):
winning and that's all, Then what's the point of that
if we give up our values in the process, because
he totally did that with medical freedom, with abortion, with
gun rights, with climate change. What's the point of winning
if we don't have the values of the Republican Party anymore.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
I noticed that when you've made your announcement back in September,
you're in intent was to run in District eighty. Now
the switch to seventy eight help us understand that move?
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Yeah, absolutely so. A lot of it is personal. My
apartment got flooded, I had to move, had a lot
of issues, and because of that, I moved down off
Scott Avenue in District seventy eight. I had prayed about
that beyond that to figure out what was the next step,
really just looking at Gino's record, talking to my family,
and from that I decided still running was the best
(17:28):
thing I could do. And I could not run in
District eighty ethically because I want to live in the
district of the people that I represent.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
At the end of the day.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
That's my biggest concern being one of the district having
the same problems, having the same successes as the district.
And so because of that, I decided District seventy eight
was the next best step.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Okay, now, how can people get more information about you?
And what kind of campaign events do you have maybe
in the next few weeks.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Well, the first step is my website, Saw your Donnis
in w V. That's s A w y E R
D E n I s O n w V dot com.
You can see all updates there. You can follow me
on social media to just if you search all your
dnnis and you'll find me. We're having some events. I'll
be doing an event in January really to honor veterans
(18:18):
and kick off the campaign. And besides that, I'll probably
be knocking on your door. I'm planning to knock over
four thousand doors before May, ten thousand doors. This whole
elections like one general. So really I'm gonna be talking
to a huge chunk of the district, the huge chunk
of the Republicans, and so i'd really just say stay
tuned on my social media. We're gonna be having a
lot of events. It's going to be a very high energy,
(18:39):
high powered campaign overall.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Now, if someone wanted to make contact with you, have
a conversation with you, is there a number somebody could
call and get you.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Absolutely, So you can go to my to my website
for my phone number or my email address, and I'll
even just give out my phone number now, it's three
zero four seven to one nine two three three four.
I've an open door policy with any constituent. I always
tell constituents you can call me at three AM. I
might be a little mentally clouded, but I'll still answer
(19:11):
and I'll still answer to the best of my capabilities
if you have any questions. So feel free anyone to
call or text that number at any time, and I'd
love to hear your concerns or your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Okay, perfect, saw your Dennison. Appreciate you coming in today, sir, Thank.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
You very much.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Absolutely, it was an honor and I enjoyed our conversation absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Okay. Coming up next, I'm gonna spend a few minutes
with State Senator Mike Olaverio from the thirteenth District, and
we'll find out what is on his schedule and the
latest up that is happening with Senator Oliverio. That's coming
up next. Now, let's see coming up at twelve thirty today,
the governor will be holding a press conference. It'll have
(19:49):
an update on the attack on West Virginia National Guard
soldiers in the nation's capital.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
We are talking about your town.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Now back to the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Well, good Monday morning, clouds and thirty degrees. It is
nine to thirty five in the University City. On the phone,
we've got State Senator Mike Oliverio from the thirteenth District.
Good morning, Mike, how are you.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Hey, great Mike, Good morning to you, sir.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
It's a pleasure to have you on the program now.
As a veteran of the West Virginia National Guard, I'm
sure that you would probably like to start this conversation
with some comments about that.
Speaker 5 (20:45):
Yes, Sir, I served in the Army Reserves, just a
little different than the Guard. But I really wanted to
offer my condolences and prayers to US Army Specialist Sarah Bestram,
a Webster County native, who lost her life last week,
(21:05):
just a tragic shooting, and also just to offer our
continued prayers for US Air Force staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe
twenty four years old. You know, they were attempting to
protect Washington, d C. And create an environment where the
citizen's there and all those that visit from around the
(21:27):
world could be safe. And they found themselves in a
very dangerous place. And just our prayers go out to
their families. And I just set a tragedy, just cast
such a pay all over the holidays, and I hope
this young man can come through this. I understand from
(21:48):
what we've been told, these are very serious injuries he suffered.
But we thank all of those in uniform that have
served us in the past and those still serving today.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
And let us not forget that staff Sergeant wolf and
Specialist Beckstrom represent the one percent of young people that
are willing to volunteer to defend their country.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
That's right, that's right. It's a special group. And you know,
for fifty years now we've been an all volunteer force,
and I think that really speaks to our nation's history
that we've been able to do that with people simply
willing to serve. And for me, it was the highest
honor of my life to where the uniform of my
(22:33):
country and serve in the United States Army. I was
at seventeen, I signed up as an ROTC cadet and
worked through that program and became an Army officer, And
it was an incredible experience, and to be honest, every
day putting on that green uniform gave me a sense
of pride and fulfillment being able to serve my country.
(22:55):
And I know other veterans that are listening experience that
as well.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
State Senator Michaelaverio is with us, and Mike could tell
us a little bit about your political future.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
Well, thanks, Mike. I have really enjoyed serving in the
State Senate. I was out for several years and decided
to pursue this line of work again back in twenty
twenty two and was elected to the Senate, my fifth
time elected to the Senate after serving four terms previously.
(23:30):
And I've really enjoyed these past three years in the
Senate and have decided to seek reelection in the twenty
twenty sixth election cycle and would ask for the support
of my constituents as we move forward into this next
legislative session the first next month, and to ask for
their support in the May and November elections of twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Six State Senator Mike Alverio is with us, and I
know Mike that during those three years in the Senate,
one of the things that has been brought up when
you and I have talked is the fact that the
personal income tax has been cut by about twenty seven
and a quarter percent since March of twenty twenty three,
(24:13):
and I know that that's a number that you're pretty
proud of.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
You know, we're making progress there. I think people need
to understand that everything we do in West Virginia is
not done in a vacuum, and that we have five
bordering states around us, and in order for us to
remain competitive, we need to keep an eye on what
those other states are doing. And bringing down our personal
income tax makes our state more attractive to people thinking
(24:39):
about moving here and makes it easier for people living
here to reduce their tax burden. So, yes, we've made progress.
We've done it through a couple of cuts over the
past few years, and I'm proud of that. There's so
much more that needs to be done, but that is
one step that will help us recruit. You know, we're
(25:02):
really upside down in West Virginia with respect to our demographics,
where we have about twenty five thousand people die every
year and about nineteen thousand born every year, and because
of that, we start each year down about six thousand
people in population, and that's before the first U haul
comes in or out. And we just need to be
(25:23):
doing the kinds of things that will attract people to
West Virginia, attract those to stay, and attract those to
come here. And income tax is one of those factors
that people look at when deciding where they want to live.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
State Senator Michaelaveria is with us. So now, Mike, let's
talk a little bit about the state budget. The spending
plan this year. It's about five billion dollars. I know
that the budget has always been very very important to you,
as well as cutting taxes. I guess, how do you
juggle all these priorities and continue the downward trend in
(25:59):
personal income tax?
Speaker 5 (26:02):
Well, your priorities really come out with respect to your budget.
And so we spend almost half of our general revenue
dollars half of that five billion on public education. And
that's very important to us and very important to me personally.
I'm a product of Montagay County Schools and one of
the things we did there recently was we passed the
(26:24):
Third Grade Success Act, where in that act, we have
put teacher aides in every first grade, second grade, and
third grade classroom in West Virginia to help those children
learn to read. And we have discovered, as have others
around the country, that if by the end of the
third grade you don't know how to read, you're in trouble.
(26:47):
So we want to focus first grade, second grade, and
third grade learning to read and so that then in
fourth grade students can begin to read to learn. And
this has required an enormous commitment, an additional one hundred
million dollars, and we've made that commitment in hopes of
improving our children's success in life.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
You know, Mike, I know that the DOH has been
of I wouldn't say concerned, but I think it's been
of interest to you. And you've been able to forge
some public private partnerships when it comes to ditching, and
I think you're instrumental. And what's happening in Mond County
now with the volunteer groups and the unions that are
(27:28):
cleaning medians and public right of ways and things like that.
So what's next? What would you like to see next?
From the doh.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Well great cooperation from doh and I brought the doh
officials from Clarksburg in Morgantown. I brought them to a
city council work session, got everybody introduced, tried to get
beyond some of the acrimony and get people working together.
Our county commissioners have been exceptional to work with the
(27:58):
past three years. Tom Bloom came to me with this
Harmony Grove exit idea that had been lingering for a while,
and we've been working on that. Jeff Arnette, Shan Sikora
have just been tremendous to work with on our Star
city exits are you know the West Westover area. You know,
we have completed some significant projects that our citizens have
(28:20):
endured quite a bit of pain the past three years,
but we've gotten the ball across the end zone and
places like Westover are an example of that and more
to do. So I think we'll continue to work. We
very much want that Harmony Grove exit, and if we're
going to create meaningful jobs in Montague County with meaningful
wages and benefits and retirements, we need more people working
(28:45):
in that industrial park because those are jobs that pay
really good wages. And the way we grow the Morgantown
Industrial Park is we improve access to that off of
the interstate. So the Harmony Grove exit is important. It
means so much to our community, and we're working on that.
We've had some positive improvements on that project even just
(29:07):
the last few weeks. So continue to work with these
county commissioners, work with our DOH officials, our local officials,
and those in our district office in Clarksburg, and try
to keep our county going in the right direction. Because
the reality is, you know, we're a county of you know,
one hundred and ten thousand people roughly, and as we
get more folks in here, more people working more wages,
(29:28):
then we share the expenses of our utilities and everything.
So that's what we're trying to do here in Mont County.
And then I also represent Marion County and a lot
of the same things are true there. We're working on
a lot of projects in Marion County. One of the
things that Faremont State's done for us is they've stepped
up and agreed to help with foster kids, and I
(29:52):
was able to secure four hundred thousand dollars to help
Fairmont State establish what's called a middle college, and if
the classes are conducted and on the campus oft Premont State,
and they're designed to help foster students who really don't
have family and have provide them a place to live
year round. And you know, foster kids only graduate about
(30:12):
fifty percent. I'm graduated high school and only about four
percent graduate from college. And so we need to be
doing things to help these foster kids. Some of them
are out of state. We need to bring them home,
protect them and give them every opportunity for success.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
State Senator Mike ol Lavaria was with us. And now,
you know, out here in the I wouldn't want to
use the word in the margins, but it seems like
it's been kicked around a while, and that is PEIA.
Lots of folks are hungry for a solution, and I
know that you know you're probably one of those people,
but that solution appears to be elusive to either side
(30:49):
of anybody that you talk to on this issue.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
Right. The first priority of PIA is making sure we
have a strong healthcare system to be able to treat
those public employees and all the citizens. And so you know,
we worked hard to protect w medicine and Vandelia Health,
which in our area operates on general and you know,
my colleague and the legislature there, Gino Chiarelli, has been
(31:15):
awesome to work with and to help us protect these
healthcare institutions against attack. And the attack is an effort
to repeal the certificate of Need, which would really punish
our local hospital systems and give an unfair advantage to
those coming in from out of state. So Geno has
been great to work with on that. As for PIA
(31:36):
in general, the state needs to step up our contribution.
We can't continue to expect more and more from the
public employees, whose wages have been fairly stagnant. There have
been some modest increases, but not significant enough to keep
up with the increases in the premiums. And it's a
problem that exists really throughout our economy. But we're the
(31:59):
employer in this case, so it's a little different than
other employees. We've got to step up and provide some
additional dollars in the way of wages to our public
employees and in the way of helping with the premiums.
And if we don't do that, we're not going to
have public employees. We're not going to have folks teaching.
We're not going to have folks driving buses, working in
(32:20):
our cafeterias and our schools, working on our roads. All
of us want somebody out there with a snowplow later
this month when the sets snow and ice gets bad.
But if we don't keep up with wages and benefits,
we're going to be in real trouble.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
State Senator Mike Olaverio is with us, and Mike has
announced his intentions to run for reelection in District thirteen.
Another issue that you've been somewhat vocal about has been
broadband expansion. You're in the state of West Virginia and
you've tied that directly to economic development.
Speaker 5 (32:55):
Yeah, we're fortunate one of our senators, Robbie Morris from ELK,
has been tremendous on that issue. Just the whole area
of infrastructure, broadband, all that kind of ties together. And
where I've tried to work in the infrastructure area and
the doh area is in the area of these privatizing efforts,
(33:17):
and we were able to get some privatizing dollars where
we went out to the private sector for ditching like
you mentioned earlier, and that was the successful effort Montinge
County and my colleague David McCormick from Montague County began
working on an issue that we jumped in and helped with,
where we've been able to get a pilot project for
(33:37):
Montngelia and Preston County where we'll have private companies we'll
be doing snow and ice removal, and that project's been
completed and now it's available so as snow and ice
start to accumulate Montingae County, we will have support in
addition to the traditional doh trucks, and we think that's
(33:58):
going to be helpful, help that project works, and maybe
we'll be emulated around the state. But we're fortunate that
with David McCormick's leadership and all of us as a
delegation working together, we're going to have that in place
now and we'll get to see how that works. And
I'm just so fortunate in this district to serve with
great folks. You know that third Grade Success Act. One
(34:19):
of the big drivers of that was Delegate Joe Statler,
and it was something that he'd been interested in for years.
And so we've got a strong legislative delegation working together
with our county officials. We work with our city officials
when we can. Admittedly we don't.
Speaker 6 (34:35):
Always agree with everything they're doing, and we raise our
concerns when we have them. But there are places where
we can work together and we've tried to do that,
and one of those places is the infrastructure road issues.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Michaelaverio running for reelection in District thirteen. Where will we
see you on the campaign trail next?
Speaker 5 (34:56):
Well, we're going to start with some campaign fundraising here. Uh,
that's an unfortunate part of elections, but uh, but we'll
be we'll be doing that and uh and then you
know it won't be long. We'll be we'll be off
to the legislative sessions and people can you know, people
can reach me at the legislature and hope they will,
(35:18):
hope they will, you know, go on to the legislative website,
Uh to reach us there. I enjoy serving, always enjoy,
you know, the feedback that I get from my constituents.
My my phone number there in the Capitol is three
O four three five seven seven nine one nine, And
(35:38):
folks can reach me there during the legislative session or
simply send an email to Mike dot Oliverio at w
V Senate dot gov. That's Mike dot Oliverio at w
V Senate dot gov.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
All right, good deal. Well Mike, we certainly appreciate your
time here this morning and good luck.
Speaker 5 (35:59):
Thank you, Mike.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Absolutely you take care of yourself. Clouds thirty degrees. Be
back to begin the wrap up process after this, I'll
talk of the town AM fourteen forty f m one
oh four point five w AJR.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
This is the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Well, good Monday morning, Clouds and thirty degrees. Metro Newsaki
Weather says partly sunny today and a high of thirty
seven degrees. That's as the state continues to mourn the
loss of West Virginia Army National Guard specialist Sarah Bestrom
and also continues to pull for the health of Staff
(36:54):
Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, who continues to battle his injuries. Coming
up Z six on Metro News talk Line, David tj
W'll be talking with Gabriel Markle. It's the Webster County
High School principal where Sarah Bestrom was a student, that
is coming up at ten oh six today, at twelve thirty,
(37:17):
Governor Morrissey will be providing an update on that shooting
and the investigation. You'll do that at twelve thirty today
from the State Capitol, and of course we will carry
that event. No, we will not carry that event live,
but you'll be able to get that event live at
the Governor's YouTube page. And of course we'll have a
(37:37):
read out on that event coming up as it unfolds
later this afternoon. Right now, clouds thirty degrees make it
a great Monday Metro news talk line coming up next
on the Voice of Morgantown one oh four point five
FM and AM fourteen forty WAJR.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Now back to the Talk of the Town.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Well, good Monday morning. It is the first of December,
and don't forget that the Morgantown Utility Board, despite the holidays,
they are certainly going to be busy throughout the city.
A couple of projects of note, one on North High
Street where they'll be doing a complete reconstruction. Parada Paving
will be doing that work. They'll go all the way
(38:33):
down to the brick, remove the bricks and then replace
that with a brand new driving surface. Now a contractor
working for the Morgantown Utility Board is going to begin
some inspection, cleaning and some repairs in sanitary sewer system
in the Evansdale area. Those improvements or that work today
(38:57):
will be on Vasser Street between Raleigh Lane and Dudley Avenue.
Now MOB officials say that at the end of each workday,
any excavated area will be backfilled or it will be
covered with road plates in order to maintain traffic in
the area and of course, winter storm. Winter Weather Advisory
(39:21):
goes into effect at midnight tonight and will have updates
as they are available. Metro News talk Line coming up
next on the Voice of Morgantown one oh four point
five FM and AM fourteen forty WAJR, The Voice of
Morgantown
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