The Daily Mail editorial board will meet with state Agriculture Commissioner candidates at 11 a.m. today.
This is one of the more interesting races this election season. For only the second time in four decades, longtime commissioner Gus Douglass will not appear on the ballot. Democrats put up five candidates in the primary election.? Walt Helmick, a longtime state senator from Pocahontas County and chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee, won the vast majority of votes.
Republican challenger Kent Leonhardt was his party?s only candidate for ag commissioner. He?s a retired Marine who currently runs a sheep, cattle and goat farm in Monongalia County. Leonhardt is touting his experience in farming as well as management.
Leonhardt also is campaigning on his opponent?s lack of experience in traditional farming.
Helmick does not own any livestock (though he?s planning to start a deer or elk operation in the near future) and doesn?t raise any crops. He owns a successful water bottling operation, powered by a natural spring on his property.
State law says the agriculture commissioner should be a ?practical farmer? and have made agriculture his or her ?chief business? for 10 years before being elected. Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom ruled earlier this year the ?practical farmer? requirement is unconstitutional and unenforceable, but that hasn?t stopped Republicans from constantly deriding Helmick as a ?fake farmer.?
Leonhardt also has repeatedly challenged Helmick to debates, though the Democrat has not accepted any of those challenges.
Helmick reversed course last week and agreed to a debate?only to be criticized by the Leonhardt campaign for ?flip-flopping.?
This should be an interesting.
(NOTE: One of my updates from 11:26 was wrongly attributed to Leonhardt. It should have read ?Helmick says it?s hard to compete with Walmart. Said you have to find a niche market where you don?t have to compete. ?We can?t do it at 13 cents (per bottle). We?re not going to do 3,000 bottles a minute.? He does a private label operation ? sells to Allegheny Insurance, Hatfield-McCoy trails, CAMC.
Tags: agriculture, agriculture commissioner, editorial board, Election 2012, elections
telenav wade phillips wade phillips time person of the year sag nominations sag nominations time magazine person of the year
No comments:
Post a Comment