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Republicans vs. Republicans

We are more than three months away from the candidate filing period for the 2026 midterm elections. All 100 members of the House of Delegates and 17 members of the 34-member state Senate will be up for election next year. Unfortunately for the West Virginia Democratic Party, most if not all — of those elections will be settled during the party primaries on May 12 and the early voting period that proceeds that. Republicans control supermajorities in both bodies, with 91 Republicans in the House and 32 Republicans in the Senate. That’s the peak of GOP legislative control at the ...

Can Americans right this listing ship?

There are few things the old me liked more than a meaty discussion about the American Founding. The history was interesting for its own sake but also essential guidance for the present and future. Or so I believed for decades. The other day, a podcast in my feed addressed these matters and I had to turn it off. Reflections on the Founders no longer feel energizing. Instead, it now feels to me as if we’re seeing the end of the story. Perhaps we will right the ship, but that’s by no means clear, and at this moment of crisis, it’s impossible to think about the Founding without ...

Dems’ isolation gets worse

We Americans, it seems, continue to live in two separate countries. Consider two items in the news this week and the inconsistent responses they evoked. One was the conviction in Florida of Ryan Routh, the second man who attempted to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump in mid-September 2024. The news appeared on page A24 of the print edition of The New York Times. Very different treatment was accorded to the return of Jimmy Kimmel, the third-highest-rated of the three broadcast network late-night show hosts, from the suspension imposed on him last week. That action was prompted ...

Investing in new leaders reflects well on a company

I spend time with organizations that are investing in people. At each session, I ask, “How many have been in a supervisory role (manager, leader) for less than four years?” The percentage of hands that go up ranges from 30 to 60 percent.  Next, I ask the group to reflect on their personal journey to a supervisory role. Did they get a degree in how to lead people before they were put in a leadership role? Did the company send them to a preparation program? The overwhelming response is no.  I then ask people what role they had prior to their manager role. Let’s say someone ...

Caring and making choices

Too often, I have been described as someone who does not care about students, as if my only concern is dollars and cents. I understand why people might think this way. My short tenure as superintendent in Randolph County has been defined almost entirely by a financial crisis that I did not create but that I must confront. When the story of a district becomes one of spreadsheets and deficits, it is easy to assume the leader is cold and unfeeling. But I would challenge anyone to consider what genuine caring looks like. Caring is not telling people what they want to hear. Caring does not ...

Forest Festival history of chivalry

The tradition of chivalry was very much alive in the West Virginia hills when future Governor Kump and his brother were young. The knightly code of honorable conduct got its name from the French word cheval meaning horse, and horses were rural transportation and entertainment in the late 1800s when the Kumps participated in tournaments at Capon Springs Resort. In her book “Capon Notes” Debbie Boyce quoted a newspaper article printed November 2, 1893: “The lads and lassies of the valley, after toiling industriously with the wheat and corn … conducted a little recreation. They ...