Woody Thrasher in 2020 WV Governor's race
On Health Care:
AdWatch: Be proactive on coronavirus, not reactive
Thrasher's ad offers ideas, including increasing unemployment benefits, bridge loans for small businesses, and deferment of mortgage payments. "We're all dealing with this coronavirus. It's certainly creating hardships, and I believe those
hardships might get greater before they get better," Thrasher said in the ad. "I also think it's a time where West Virginia needs to be proactive in terms of its reaction to this crisis, not reactive the way we have been so many other times."
Source: Weirton Daily Times AdWatch:2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 29, 2020
On Drugs:
Focus on treatment, prevention, helping families
Q: What do you see as the role of the legislature in addressing the opioid crisis?Thrasher: I would work directly with the Legislature to lead efforts to recovery, including focused strategies for treatment, prevention, supporting law enforcement,
workforce training and helping families. We will add treatment centers, increase long-term treatment beds, ensure prosecution of dealers to the fullest extent of the law and partner with the private and nonprofit sectors to help solve this crisis.
Source: Williamson Daily News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 24, 2020
On Education:
I fundamentally believe in choice and competition
Q: Do you think the educational reform bill passed in 2019 is effective?Thrasher: It included lots of great things: allowing counties to pay teachers more in critical need areas, remote areas or areas with high turnover, along with master teachers,
mentors or academic coaches; funds for teachers to purchase supplies; funds for support services; and funds for counties with smaller populations. I fundamentally believe in choice and competition. This was a good start.
Source: Williamson Daily News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 24, 2020
On Environment:
Eliminate unnecessary regulations, balance with conservation
Q: Do you support recent weakening of EPA regulations concerning air and water quality?
Thrasher: We should always eliminate unnecessary regulations and make West Virginia an attractive place to do business. But that must be balanced with conservation efforts to keep West Virginia an attractive place to make a living,
Source: Williamson Daily News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 24, 2020
On Jobs:
Lower taxes, fewer regulations, incentivize small business
I've seen firsthand when West Virginians have better opportunities, most of them will stay here to make a living. We need more and better jobs, and state government can absolutely help facilitate that through
lower taxes, fewer regulations, incentives for existing small businesses, continuing workforce development and support for creative economic opportunities.
Source: Williamson Daily News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 24, 2020
On Principles & Values:
West Virginia is hurting, we need strong leadership
West Virginia is hurting. We need strong leadership. We're losing population at an alarming rate. We need our roads fixed. We need broadband and school choice. We need more and better jobs. We must protect the unborn and fight the drug epidemic.
I'm a conservative who will always protect our values. West Virginians can have the American dream--do better than the previous generation and help our kids so they can, too. This is the West Virginia I see and I will fight for.
Source: Williamson Daily News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 24, 2020
On Technology:
Broadband is a must; recruit tech companies
Q: What do you think should be done to diversify the state's economy?Thrasher: Broadband is a must. We also need to look at each region's unique strengths and work with what we already have started, along with paying attention to trends.
When I saw how many IT grads West Virginia exports, I got to work as Commerce Secretary recruiting tech companies.
Source: Williamson Daily News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 24, 2020
On Technology:
Only build highways that generate new economic activity
Thrasher added, "We need to invest in things that are not going to be simply an expense but an investment. An example is the Roads to Prosperity program. Great.
We'll build some great highways, but the Governor is spending $300 million in McDowell County on a four-lane coal field expressway which has no beginning and no end but lowest average daily traffic.
It will be an expense that will not generate any new activity. McDowell County and our southern coal fields need some help from the state, but we need to be strategic with what we do.
You look over here where those infrastructure dollars could get a real return."
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Mar 9, 2020
On Principles & Values:
If elected, I'll put my businesses in a blind trust
Justice has acknowledged he lives in Lewisburg, a city about 100 miles from the governor's mansion in Charleston but not far from his resort. "No other governor has refused to play by the rules like this. We just can't trust Jim Justice to uphold his
oath of office. I'll put my businesses in a blind trust, focus 100% on serving as Governor & proudly live in the mansion, as our Constitution says," Thrasher wrote on Twitter.
Source: Dayton Daily News on 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial race
Mar 5, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
Economic development requires numerous approaches
Thrasher's planned initiatives for economic development are an increased focus on tourism, recruiting companies beyond those involved in resource extraction and improving the state's infrastructure, including broadband access.
He said the same approach to job creation cannot be used throughout the state, noting the variety of resources and opportunities in West Virginia. "Economic development is not a one-size fits all," he said.
Source: Weirton Daily Times on 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial race
Mar 1, 2020
On Abortion:
I am a strong defender of the right to life
On Republican values: "I think the Republican governor needs to represent Republican values," Thrasher said. "I am a strong defender of the right to life and the Second Amendment."
Thrasher went on to say that he believes he adheres to the Republican party platform more so than his opponent.
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Feb 2, 2020
On Gun Control:
I am a strong defender of the Second Amendment
On Republican values: "I think the Republican governor needs to represent Republican values," Thrasher said. "I am a strong defender of the right to life and the Second Amendment."
Thrasher went on to say that he believes he adheres to the Republican party platform more so than his opponent.
Source: Martinsburg Journal-News on 2020 West Virginia governor race
Feb 2, 2020
On Jobs:
State must help diversify economy
Another pressing issue he points out is the lack of economic diversity resulting in the lack of opportunity for the youth. "We continue to see the economic boom and bust from a resource extraction economy with no effort to diversify it.
So I think there are real opportunities for change and I don't feel like the current administration is beginning to do those things that are going to resolve the change that we desperately need."
Source: WTRF Valley Grove on 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Dec 5, 2019
On Drugs:
Execute drug dealers whose sales result in death
Woody Thrasher says the opioid problem is such a crisis that the state should have the option of executing drug dealers whose sales result in death. "I think it should be considered when you look at the havoc they wreak on society; we should consider
the sternest of all measures," Thrasher said on MetroNews' "Talkline."The wording in Thrasher's platform is: "In drug crimes that result in death, including the sale of tainted drugs, when the guilt of a person is established beyond a reasonable
doubt, we should consider the death penalty." West Virginia abolished capital punishment in 1965.
Thrasher, speaking on "Talkline," said the Justice administration has dealt too inconsistently with a pervasive problem. "Those folks who are selling
fentanyl-based things, we've got to come down hard on them, Thrasher said. "We've got to come down with a hammer. There is no concerted effort and plan to deal with this problem in West Virginia," Thrasher said. "We have to do better than we're doing.
Source: W.V. MetroNews on 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Oct 24, 2019
On Drugs:
Addiction is a disease; but no compassion for dealers
Capital punishment for fatal drug deals is only part of the broader set of proposals Thrasher released. Other proposals include increasing availability of treatment for people who need more than 90 days, providing more support for grandparents raising
children and breaking up the Department of Health and Human Resources.Thrasher emphasized that he believes addiction is a disease that needs to be treated with compassion. But the death penalty proposal stood out as one likely to stir debate.
Source: W.V. MetroNews on 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Oct 24, 2019
On Tax Reform:
We are not in favor of tax increases
On economic development: "We are not in favor of tax increases," Thrasher said. "As a former commerce secretary who tried to go out and recruit businesses to come to West Virginia, we need to be rolling out a red carpet for those businesses.
We're not proposing the largest tax increase in the history of the state. I think when you look at the real fundamentals, I am way more Republican than this governor ever thought he would be."
Source: The Intelligencer on 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Oct 6, 2019
On Jobs:
WV needs jobs or we'll keep losing population
Thrasher said he believes it's his job to create jobs, and in an effort to do so, he's toured the Mountain State extensively. Thrasher said, "I drove 58,000 miles trying to generate work for 20 years. There are only three communities that have grown in
size--Martinsburg, Morgantown and Teays Valley." He said the vast majorities of communities across West Virginia have seen a decline. "Last year, West Virginia lost 11,000 people," he said. "We have lost people for 20 years in a row.
We are the only state in the union to lose population for 20 years in a row--West Virginia has lost more people than any other state in the union."Thrasher said the reason for the population decline is a lack of economic opportunities. "Most of the
kids that leave, and they are mostly kids or recent graduates, leave because they do not believe they have opportunities here," he said. "They go other places where they are extremely successful. It breaks my heart to see where West Virginia is going."
Source: MyBuckhannon.com on 2020 West Virginia Governor debate
Aug 27, 2019
On Technology:
More Internet infrastructure, to keep young people in W.V.
Thrasher said he feels West Virginia desperately needs to turn a corner. "I do not believe we are going in the right direction now," he stressed. Thrasher said the key is to create opportunities for young people that will incentivize them to stay in the
state."One key element would be to empower the communities which have declined," he said. "In order to do that, you have to have infrastructure.
One particular item is the lack of broadband [high-speed internet]. If you do not have cell service, and you do not have broadband, no one wants to move there."
He said West Virginia received grant monies for internet and the money was given to
Frontier Communications, which "installed copper wire instead of fiber and installed an antiquated system." He said as a businessperson he knows how to run a business efficiently and said the government needs to be run much more efficiently.
Source: MyBuckhannon.com on 2020 West Virginia Governor debate
Aug 27, 2019
On Budget & Economy:
Delays lead to roads needing to be rebuilt, not repaired
"The longer we wait, the more roads will need to be rebuilt, not just repaired, and the more it will all cost," Thrasher said. "Our Highways workers are doing the best they can with severely limited resources and a chief executive who specializes
in stopgaps. We need to help our Division of Highways recruit and maintain the designated workforce levels in each county."
Source: Press release for 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Jul 9, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
Praise for ending "Obama's war on coal"
"This week's final Affordable Clean Energy rule shows us that President Trump is committed to reducing red tape and giving states the power to decide what is best for them," Thrasher said. "This commonsense approach is another step forward in ending
Obama's war on coal that crushed West Virginia's economy for far too long. We know how to balance our environment and our economy, and I'm grateful President Trump and is allowing us to return to the world stage as a competitive energy source."
Source: Press release for 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Jun 20, 2019
On Education:
For charter schools; not sure on education savings accounts
"In business, competition breeds better results, so I don't think there's anything wrong with having charter schools. I think it makes sense, and 44 other states have agreed with that." When it comes to Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), however,
Thrasher has not yet taken a position."This is a much more controversial issue because I think there's a reasonable argument that takes funds away from local school boards," he said.
Source: W.V. MetroNews on 2020 West Virginia Gubernatorial race
Jun 16, 2019
Page last updated: Dec 19, 2020