West Virginia needs livable wages

Chairing West Virginia's Democratic Party during this legislative session – the first with a Republican majority in more than 80 years – is a daunting task. Belinda Biafore is no stranger to heavy lifting, however, having spent the past 30 years working with and for Democrats. It's been said that if you need something done, ask the busiest person you know. Belinda fits both categories: She's the hardest-working woman in West Virginia, and she will get the job done.

Belinda Biafore

She won't get it done by herself, though. She doesn't want to and doesn't expect to. One of Belinda's many strengths is coalition building – she knows a lot of West Virginians, including current and former lawmakers, union members, WVFDW members, business and industry leaders, and working men and women from the Eastern Panhandle to the southern coalfields. The team at party headquarters is in place and has hit the ground running.

Her priorities – and ours and, we hope, yours – are clear: The Republican agenda is wrong for West Virginia and we must make that fact clear to voters. In case you missed Belinda's most recent message to WV Democrats, we're reprinting it here. Click here to add yourself to the party's mailing list.

It's no secret that the GOP puts corporations and large private companies over hardworking West Virginians, and it's no secret that the GOP puts big money over workers' safety. New Republican leadership's extreme radical agenda is crippling the ability of workers and their unions to fight for livable wages so that private companies can pay their employees less.

All we heard before they took office was "jobs, jobs, jobs." I have not seen one jobs bill. Instead, I've seen an attack on hardworking West Virginians and the jobs they already have! Not only are they breaking promises they made to voters, but they are gutting the workforce that is already in place. What good is a leadership that doesn't care about workers and the ability to provide for their families or to come home to their families safely after a hard day of work? No good!

We need to maintain a high standard of living in West Virginia, not pass legislation resulting in low-paying jobs for companies that only care about making a profit.

As Democrats, we stand with the hardworking families that have built this state, and we stand with their families and their children to ensure that they are able to have a good quality of life in West Virginia. We stand with you, and put people over profit, not profit over people. We will continue to fight for West Virginia families. This fight for hardworking West Virginia families is our fight, and we're not going anywhere.

Belinda Biafore, Chair

Moving forward

Our first order of business here, and one we've already done in a more timely manner on Facebook and Twitter, is to congratulate the new Chair and Vice-Chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party. The election was held Saturday, February 7, where elected members of the State Democratic Executive Committee moved Belinda Biafore from Vice-Chair to Chair and elected Christopher Regan as the new Vice-Chair.

Belinda Biafore
Chair, West Virginia Democratic Party

Chris Regan
Vice-Chair, West Virginia Democratic Party

What does this mean for the party? Blending Biafore's relationship-building skills and 30 years of experience with Regan's skills and commitment was – in the Executive Committee's judgment – the best way to build for the future.

Time will tell, of course, and we are looking forward to being a part of that effort. Belinda is a past president of the Federation and truly moved us toward a more progressive agenda. We're looking forward to watching Chris bring younger West Virginians who perhaps haven't committed to a party into the fold.

We Democrats like to say we are a big tent. Belinda and Chris have a big job ahead of them bringing Independents and lapsed Democrats back to the fold. We, of course, support them and will assist in any way we can.