State Senator Richard Ojeda is a relative newcomer to West Virginia politics but he already has caught a lot of people's attention. A decorated Army paratrooper with two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, Senator Ojeda enlisted in the army after high school and achieved the rank of major before leaving the service after a 24 year career. His decision to enter politics was based on a desire to help the working families in his home state and to challenge the big-money vested interests who have controlled West Virginia politics for too long and who don't seem to care about the average Citizen.

Consequently, it's no surprise that Mr. Ojeda has called lobbyists "the absolute scum of the earth" and proposed (humorously) that they wear body cameras any time they meet with legislators. He hopes to help overturn the Supreme Court's decision that allows the wealthy to contribute unlimited amounts of money to political candidates (see our article, "Has the Supreme Court Legalized Political Bribery?" for an in-depth discussion of this issue) and he hopes to move toward a system of public financing for election campaigns.

(Ojeda mage from Politico.com)

One of the first powerful interests the Senator butted heads with was "Big Pharma" (i.e., the pharmaceutical industry). Despite just being a freshman in the Senate, he was lead sponsor of a bill to legalize medical marijuana, which he then spearheaded through the Republican-controlled legislature all the way to the Governor's desk for signature.

Although Senator Ojeda is second to none in his support of coal (his grandfather moved to West Virginia to work in the coal mines), he also has been critical of the fossil fuel industry when they don't pay their fair share of taxes and when they oppose diversification of the state's economy. The Senator sees no reason why West Virginia shouldn't be a part of the renewable energy boom and be encouraging those companies to locate in the state.

For these reasons it may surprise you that Rich voted for Donald Trump in 2016, but we're not going to hold that against him. He was a Bernie Sanders supporter first and admits that Donald has been a huge disappointment to those who voted for him. In fact, some of the Senator's direct quotes on the subject (per a recent article in Politico.com) include:

(Image from wvva.com)

"Donald Trump, made everybody excited because he said s**t nobody else has ever said. But {after being elected} he ain't done jack s**t to help us.… It's been a friggin' circus for a solid year… Nothing's changed. So many people in southern West Virginia are still poor and need jobs. The opioid epidemic rages unabated... All he's done is shown that he's taking care of the daggone people he's supposed to be getting rid of."

Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Ojeda were big supporters of infrastructure spending during the 2016 campaign, but we haven't heard much on that from Mr. Trump since being elected and the recent Trump/GOP tax "reform" primarily benefits the well off. Mr. Ojeda continues his fight, though, to repair our crumbling infrastructure and, in the process, help create good-paying jobs for Americans. (See our article, "When Will Republicans Agree to Fix Our Nation's Infrastructure" for more background on this issue.)

The Senator also is a big supporter of public education (providing public tax dollars to private institutions that then limit accountability to the public is not on the Senator's radar) and of making education after high school more affordable to the middle class families who frequently don't qualify for financial assistance. Whether academic or skilled trade in nature, an education is the foundation that will allow Citizens to rise economically and better support their families.

Based on news stories from 2016, some of you outside of West Virginia may already be familiar with Rich and not realize it. While attending a political cookout that year, then-candidate Ojeda was attacked from behind by an assailant wearing brass knuckles. He required surgery and spent weeks recovering from those injuries. Fortunately, that recovery was complete and, as you might have inferred, he went on to win his campaign for the State Senate that year.

Ojeda with Senator Joe Manchin (image from wvalways.com); Ojeda 2018 campaign logo

As we write this piece, Senator Ojeda is considering a run for the U.S. Congress in West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District. The seat currently is held by a Republican who is interested in running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent, and one of our favorite pro-gun Democrats, Joe Manchin. Polling is favorable for Mr. Ojeda making the race, but whether he continues serving in the West Virginia State Senate or decides to pursue a Congressional run, we encourage Citizens of his district to continue supporting him at election time. The country needs more public servants like Richard Ojeda.

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