West Virginia Politics and Government, Second Edition Politics and Governments of the American States

west virginia politics and government, second edition Politics and Governments of the American States Founding Editor Daniel J. Elazar Published by the University of Nebraska Press in association with the Center for the Study of Federalism at the Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government, Lafayette College richard a. brisbin jr., robert jay dilger, allan s. hammock, and l. christopher plein West Virginia Politics and Government Second Edition university of nebraska press lincoln and london © 2008 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data West Virginia politics and government / Richard A. Brisbin Jr. [et al.].—2nd ed. p. cm.—(Politics and governments of the American states) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8032-6243-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. West Virginia—Politics and government. I. Brisbin, Richard A. jk4016.w47 2008 320.4754—dc22 2008028718 Set in Times by Bob Reitz. Designed by Joel Gehringer. contents Series Preface, vii Acknowledgments, ix Introduction: Mountain State Politics, 1 part 1: the construction of the political agenda one Sources of the Political Agenda: Geography, History, Economy, and Political Culture, 13 two Public Contributions to the Political Agenda: Participation, Parties, and Elections, 33 three Interest Group Politics, 54 four Intergovernmental Relations and the Political Agenda, 82 part 2: political institutions five Constitutional Politics, 105 six The Legislature, 121 seven The Governor and Executive Offi ces, 136 eight The Administration of State Policies, 151 nine The Budget Process, 173 ten The Judiciary, 192 eleven Local Government, 220 twelve Policy Controversies and the Capacity of the State Government, 243 Suggestions for Further Reading, 267 Notes, 277 Index, 317 john kincaid, series editor Series Preface The purpose of this series is to provide information on the politics and governments of the fi fty American states, books that are of value not only to the student of government but also to the general citizens who want greater insight into the past and present civic life of their own states and of other states in the federal union. The role of the states in governing America is not widely understood. The national media focus attention on the federal government in Washington dc, and local media focus attention on local government. Meanwhile, except when there is a scandal or a proposed tax increase, the workings of state government remain something of a mystery to many citizens—out of sight, out of mind. In many respects, however, the states have been, and continue to be, the most important governments in the American political system. They are constituents of the federal union, and citizens gain representation through them. The federal government is one of limited, delegated powers; all other powers are possessed by the states and their citizens. At the same time, the states are the empowering governments for the nation’s 87,525 local governments—counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts. As such, states provide for one of the most essential and ancient elements of freedom and democracy, the right of local self- government. Although, for many citizens, the most visible aspects of state government are state universities, some of which are the most prestigious in the world, and state highway patrol offi cers, with their radar guns and handy ticket books, state governments provide for nearly all domestic public services. Whether elements of those services are enacted or partly funded by the federal government and actually carried out by local governments, it is state government that has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that Americans viii Series Preface are well served by all their governments. In so doing, all of the American states are more democratic, more prosperous, and better governed than most of the world’s nation-states. This is a particularly timely period in which to publish a series of books on the government and politics of each of the fi fty states. Once viewed as a “fallen arches” of the federal system, states today are increasingly seen as energetic, innovative, and fi scally responsible. Some states, of course, perform better than others, but that is to be expected in a federal system. Each state is unique in its own right. It is our hope that this series will shed light on the public life of each state and that, taken together, the books will contribute to a better informed understanding of the states themselves and of their often pivotal roles in the world’s fi rst and oldest continental-sized federal democracy. Acknowledgments This introductory study of West Virginia politics and government is a collegial effort by members of the Department of Political Science and Division of Public Administration at West Virginia University. In this edition we discuss the state’s politics using information collected through August 2008. Each author initially drafted chapters in his areas of expertise and then solicited comments from the others. The fi nal product thus refl ects the ideas and research of all four authors. Richard Brisbin wrote the draft of the introduction and chapters 1, 5, and 10; Robert Dilger wrote the draft of chapters 4, 6, 7, and 11; Allan Hammock wrote the draft of part of chapter 2 and all of chapter 3; and Christopher Plein wrote the drafts of chapters 8 and 9. Richard Brisbin and Allan Hammock drafted sections of chapter 2. Richard Brisbin and Robert Dilger drafted sections of chapter 12. We acknowledge the extensive assistance provided by Kevin M. Leyden, director of the West Virginia Institute for Public Affairs of West Virginia University, especially for his support of research related to parts of the chapters on political culture, the legislature, the executive, the budgetary process, and the judiciary. The Institute for Public Affairs, Department of Political Science, Division of Public Administration, and Offi ce of the Dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University provided funding for the statewide surveys of mass political attitudes referenced in the book and contributed to an article on the survey. Lucinda Potter of the West Virginia University Political Science Department provided us with comments about the fi rst edition that signifi cantly improved this edition of the book. Finally, all of the authors express appreciation to the many current and former state elected and civil service offi cials who provided insights during interviews and discussions about West Virginia politics. The authors also have individual acknowledgments. Richard Brisbin x Acknowledgments thanks his former graduate assistant Joseph Patten, currently on the faculty of Monmouth University, for managing the 1992 survey of judicial offi cials and for performing other tasks related to the fi rst edition of the book. Thomas K. Bias, assistant editor of the West Virginia Public Affairs Reporter, capably managed the 2005 survey of the public and ably collaborated with Professor Brisbin in the analysis of data from all 2005 surveys. Thanks are also extended to his colleagues John C. Kilwein, who from 1992 through 2005 joined in conducting interviews, gathering data, and drafting the publications from which much of the information on the judiciary was derived, and Susan Hunter, who from 1989 until 2005 collaborated on the research on dispute resolution, civic participation, and land use and environmental policy in West Virginia cited in this volume. For the fi rst edition, chapter 10 was improved substantially by the advice and assistance of Judge Frank Jolliffe, Magistrate Carol Wolfe, and Ted Philyaw and the staff of the Supreme Court of Appeals Administrator’s Offi ce. Finally Professor Brisbin acknowledges Professor Robert L. Hunt, his tutor in West Virginia history and politics at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Robert Dilger thanks Randy Moffett, currently on the faculty of the Savannah College of Art and Design, for his assistance in gathering data on gubernatorial powers and for reading and commenting on several chapters of the fi rst edition of the book. Also, the late John Hoff, director of the West Virginia Association of Counties, Elizabeth Larson, then executive director of the County Commissioners Association of West Virginia, and Stephen Zoeller, then Kanawha County administrator, provided many useful suggestions for improving chapter 10 for the fi rst edition of the book. Allan Hammock would like to thank Professor James Oxendale of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology for assistance in gathering, analyzing, and reporting some of the data in chapter 3 for the fi rst edition of the book. Lee Ann Greathouse, administrative associate of the Department of Political Science, provided great assistance in the electronic preparation of his sections. Christopher Plein extends his thanks to Dolly Ford of the West Virginia University Division of Social Work for helpful comments on draft chapters. Also, he extends a special note of thanks to Sam Gray, a former West Virginia legislative staff member, for a detailed critique of chapters 8 and 9. The fi rst edition of this book featured contributions by our former colleague Christopher Z. Mooney of the University of Illinois at Springfi eld. We have relied heavily on his contributions in our production of the second edition, and we thank him for permission to use these materials. When he wrote these chapters, Chris relied on his graduate assistant, Mei-Hsien Lee, Acknowledgments xi currently on the faculty of the Graduate School of Southeast Asian Studies, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan, for research assistance, and Susan Tewksbury, David Brown, Laura Mooney, and Maude Shunk for important suggestions and assistance. This book is dedicated to the memory of our colleague David G. Temple. Dave, who taught and wrote about West Virginia politics for nearly three decades, participated in the planning of this volume.

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