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MOUNDSVILLE - Incumbent Delegate Lisa Zukoff faces two challengers on Nov. 8 in the race for the District 7 seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
Zukoff, D-Marshall, is in a contest with Republican Charles Sheedy and Mountain Party candidate Dylan Parsons.
- Zukoff, first elected in 2018, is seeking her third two-year term in the House and is a full-time legislator. The Moundsville resident thanked voters for already having elected her in the past two elections.
Prior to entering politics, she was a former executive director of the Wheeling Housing Authority, and worked at her family-owned small business, Accessories Ltd. Moundsville.
She believes the connections she made while housing director have helped her as a lawmaker, as she came to know many people and learn about the government process.
"I live in the community and work at home, and see my constituents all the the time - not just during election season," she said. "I'm out and about, and I listen to people. I believe communication and human relationships are key."
Zukoff said the most pressing issue West Virginia faces is taking care of its children.
Her efforts in the Legislature have centered around the high number of youths in foster care in the state, as well as the high number of children being raised by their grandparents.
"We need to give them the assistance they need to thrive in the future, stay in the state and become productive citizens," she said.
Zukoff noted she also has voted "yes" for every economic development package coming before the House.
"Our children are leaving because the jobs are not here," she said. "Yet we also need an educated workforce for them to come here."
Zukoff said the issue she hears most about from constituents is the state of the roads.
She said she plans to continue to push a bill first introduced by her predecessor, Marshall County Commissioner Mike Ferro, when he was a delegate. That legislation would direct a percentage of oil and gas tax revenue generated in a county to return to that county for the purpose of repairing roads damaged by oil and gas trucks.
- Sheedy, of Cameron, said he is "pro-life, pro-God and pro-gun."
"I am running because I looked at what my opponent was promoting in Charleston, and decided it was not what the people of Marshall and Wetzel counties wanted," he said.
Sheedy said he would focus on senior citizen issues, veterans benefits and improving infrastructure.
"We need to lower taxes on senior citizens, veterans and help our military," he continued. "I am a veteran myself."
Sheedy said he would work in the Legislature toward exempting the Social Security and pension benefits received by senior citizens from personal income tax.
Sheedy served in the military for over 37 years with the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard, and retired as a master sergeant.
He is also retired from the West Virginia Department of Highways, where he worked for 30 years. Sheedy started there as an equipment operator, then retired as Marshall County administrator for the DOH.
"Yes, the Department of Highways is broken and needs fixed," he said. "I have spoken with House and Senate leadership about fixing the DOH, and other state agencies as well.
"Wages need to be brought up drastically to attract and retain workers. Equipment needs to be purchased to do the work. They don't have the equipment they need."
- Parsons, of New Martinsville, said he is the candidate of the working class.
"Ever since West Virginia's founding, it has been exploited and sold out by the two-party system," he said. "A hundred years ago our working-class miners took up arms at Blair Mountain. Now we have a coal-baron governor (Gov. Jim Justice) who has been supported by both parties.
"Neither party represents the working class."
Parsons is a New Martinsville native who graduated from Magnolia HIgh School in 2016, and received a bachelors degree in history from West Liberty University in 2020.
He works for Northwood Health Systems as a direct care provider.
"I come from a working-class family," Parsons said. "I was always moving around from house to house as my parents were renting different places and I never had a stable place to live. Sometimes there was not a stable income, and that affected my outlook on life.
"No matter which party was in control, it seemed we always struggled to make ends meet. All we saw was corporate handouts by both parties."
He said the number one thing he hears from voters is the need for better-paying jobs.
"People are not making ends meet," Parsons said. "They are not being paid what they are worth, can't pay the rent, and can't put food on the table."
He suggested the state would flourish from cannabis legalization.
"Polls show about 70% would support it, and it's high time we did it," Parsons continued. "This is really something people across party lines agree on. It would bring in revenue, and help fund our schools."