Glenn Elliott Brings Senate Campaign to New Martinsville
Derek Redd (file) Trending
NEW MARTINSVILLE -- Former Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott is criss-crossing West Virginia focused on his new role -- the Democratic nominee for United States Senate -- and said Monday he is excited by the amount of support he's receiving from voters.
Elliott's tour of the state brought him to New Martinsville on Monday evening for a town hall session, where he answered questions on numerous topics. He will face Gov. Jim Justice, the Republican nominee for Senate, in November in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va. Manchin endorsed Elliott's Senate run during the May primaries.
Elliott admits it's going to be a tough battle -- recent polls show Justice with a significant lead -- yet he says he's up to the challenge. He is trying to erase some of Justice's lead by traveling throughout the state and building up some name recognition.
Elliott told those in attendance he has a pretty good feel for issues in Wetzel County because it's not too far away from home, but it's always good to go places and hear what issues are first and foremost in people's minds.
"That's the main goal tonight, to just figure out what's going on here and, if I do get elected to the Senate, what can I do to make life better here in Wetzel County and be a partner to you and your city," he said.
Monday was Elliott's first day of his post-mayoral life, as Denny Magruder was sworn in as Wheeling's new mayor earlier that day. He said it was a bittersweet feeling, and joked that it was because the potholes in Wheeling are not his fault now.
The Wheeling native -- a graduate of the Linsly School, the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center -- discussed his time prior to law school working as an aide for the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd. He called the five years working for the West Virginia Democrat one of the great experiences of his life, and talked about the things he learned from Byrd by sitting in on late-night votes.
Elliott talked about his stories and experiences with Byrd and the way the longtime senator conducted himself by always putting the state first. He talked a little about how Byrd worked to get deals done and the respect his colleagues had for him. He said he went to law school at Byrd's suggestion.
After practicing law in Washington D.C., he decided to return to Wheeling and figure out what he wanted to do. He said he fell in love with his community and he saw lots of opportunities in the downtown area. He purchased a couple buildings downtown and made one his home, and they became his passion.
He then decided to run for mayor hoping to help reinvigorate the city. Elliott said that, in Wheeling, when he ran for office, people were living in the past. He added he has seen that same problem throughout the state.
It is time, he continued, that the people of the Mountain State get out of that funk and start thinking outside the box. People need the tools at the local level to reinvent themselves. He stressed the goal of building more small businesses to bring people into the communities. He said there need to be incentives to help small businesses grow. Wheeling is seeing that happen now, he said. People are renovating old dilapidated buildings and that work is paying off with more foot traffic.
The more Elliott travels across the state, he said he finds the same story -- a lot of towns with vacant buildings. He said West Virginia needs a Legislature that will work with cities and not against them.
Among the questions from the crowd, which numbered about 30 on Monday, were subjects like flood insurance concerns, transportation, healthcare, border security, Social Security, taxes on small businesses, clean water, abortion, minimum wage, child care and adult care, right to work, labor unions, the Supreme Court, term limits and more.
Elliott also mentioned former president Donald Trump, who is running against current President Joe Biden in November.
"I never liked the phrase 'Make America Great Again,' because it's a throwback to the time when minorities didn't have the rights they have today," Elliott said. "If you were gay, you couldn't get married or actually live the life you wanted to live."
He said that Trump uses that phrase and it mostly causes a sense of fear. Elliott feels Trump is appealing to people's fear of being left behind. Instead, he continued, we should be lifting people up, rather than playing on their emotions and fears.
"We have to start believing in ourselves and getting away from the fear and push for policies that help us rebuild and not appeal to people's sense of loss," Elliott said.