WHEELING - Former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland describes herself as "tough, tested and conservative."
Ireland, a Republican candidate for governor, presented her platform and answered questions Thursday night at a forum sponsored the Mountaineers for Responsible Government group in Wheeling. State Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, also was slated to attend, but did not show for the event.
Ireland, a Kanawha County resident, took the podium alone.
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Former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland, a current Republican candidate for governor, addresses a Mountaineers for Responsible Government forum Thursday night at St. Johns Evangelical Protestant Church in downtown Wheeling.
"I'm 'tough' in that I know how to handle business," she said. "I was a Republican elected secretary of state, I was the only woman in the executive branch, and I was tough enough to hang in there. We did a pretty good job."
Ireland said she is "tested" because she has experience in state government.
"Some people think that it is bad to be a career politician," she said. "I'm certainly not a career politician - but I know enough about state government, where to get things done, and how to get things done."
As for being conservative, Ireland noted she is "pro-life, pro-second amendment, and pro-marriage between one man and one woman."
"I'm anti-federal government's intrusion into our lives, into our backyards, into our schools, into our pocketbooks, and into our grocery stores," Ireland said. "There is an advantage to having won a statewide race before, but I have the chops to back it up, as well."
Ireland advocates state court reforms to make West Virginia more attractive to outside business, and believes the state should make use of its natural resources.
"With regards to energy, there is no reason in the world we have to take a back seat to anybody - to apologize that we mine for coal, that we are drilling for natural gas," she said. "This is going to move the state forward. We have to have a seat at the table when they're forging a national energy policy - and we do not."
Ireland said an emphasis on education is also needed in West Virginia.
She believes teachers need more flexibility in the classroom, and that students need access to more technology.
"We have to expand broadband across the state," she said. "West Virginia won't survive unless this state is wired."
Ireland said she also has seen that education in West Virginia is being affected by a significant drug problem in the state.
"I have talked to family court judges who tell me they spend 85 percent of their time on truancy," she commented. "It's because the parents of these children are on drugs. They won't get their children to school."
Ireland and Barnes are on a GOP ticket that includes Delegate Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson; former Delegate Larry Faircloth, R-Berkeley; businessman Bill Maloney of Monongalia County; and Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia; and Ralph William Clark and Cliff Ellis, both of Monongalia County.
The primary election is May 14.