I attended the West Virginia GOP convention this past Saturday in Charleston serving as a delegate from the Harpers Ferry district. The main purpose of the convention was to draft and adopt the party’s platform. It is held every four years - the previous one was in Beckley in 2012.

The WVGOP is an organization that is on the rise. One of the reasons for that is that the platform process is open and transparent. Selection of delegates is done at the local level. The Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee held a local convention several weeks back and delegates were selected to attend the state party convention.

The process of drafting and adopting the party platform is a two-step process. A committee comprised of delegates selected by each county GOP prepares the document. However, each item is then voted on by the complete body of delegates at the general meeting. Nothing gets into the party platform document without approval from the floor.

There were approximately 250 people in attendance at the general meeting. While some of the convention delegates were elected officials, most in attendance were people from all walks of life who were selected to represent their respective counties. This was a convention mostly attended by regular people.

Conrad Lucas, the state chair did a fine job presiding over the general meeting. This was the second convention for Lucas, a native of Berkeley Springs. I believe that he may still be the youngest state party chair in the nation. As each item came up for vote there was spirited debate, surprising unity and most of all it was refreshingly civil. What emerged was a platform that, by and large, is something that nearly all party members can proudly and whole heartedly support.

Truth be told, a lot of the heavy lifting with regard to the overhaul of the platform had been done at the previous convention in 2012. I was there. It went fairly late into the evening. However, that process provided a springboard for the party’s recent success.

Some of the core principles of the party as presented in the platform document include: faith in the individual, that free enterprise is essential to economic growth, that all citizens are guaranteed equal rights and justice before the law and that traditional values, education, and religious freedom are the foundation of our country’s future. The platform also reaffirms the party’s support for traditional marriage and the right to life.

A couple of brief highlights of note; there was spontaneous and enthusiastic applause for this item: “we oppose the deployment of the West Virginia National Guard into combat without a Constitutional Declaration of War”. Considering that West Virginia has the highest number of veterans per capita of any state, the applause was particularly noteworthy. There were numerous references to the Constitution in the platform including, of course, support for our Second Amendment rights.

Also of note was a call to end Common Core and the “Smarter Balanced” testing. Added was opposition to federal interference in education in general and for West Virginia to develop its own standards with local participation.

One of the few contentious items had to do with “state sponsored” gambling. Included in the 2012 platform was this clause, “Establishing a freeze on the further expansion of new state sponsored gambling”. The 2016 version of this item adds language that calls for the removal of “subsidies” for the gaming industry. There were many proposed amendments to this item, especially from delegates from the Eastern Panhandle and it was eventually removed from the platform, only to be reinstated at the end of the meeting.

During the debate it became clear that this clause was aimed at the subsidies provided for the dog racing industry. For the FY 2017 budget, the governor at the last minute diverted funds intended for the horse racing industry to the greyhound racing industry. As Hoppy Kerchival writes in WVMetro News, “Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has come to the rescue of the state’s dog racing industry by restoring a cut of approximately $2.5 million to the purse fund”. The governor struck the word “thoroughbred” from the line item in the budget.

Kerchival adds, “Tomblin is connected to the greyhound industry. His late mother, Freda, operated a kennel in Logan County for years. After her death, Tomblin’s nephew, Carl Tomblin II, assumed operation of the kennel”. So, the outgoing governor, a Democrat, has diverted funds that were intended for the horse racing industry, an industry that is part our local economy, to an industry with a personal family connection.

Now, about those so-called subsidies to the gambling industry. Member of the House of Delegates, Mike Folk from Berkeley County provided some good insight into this issue. What he said is that the gambling industry is taxed differently than other industries in the state. He pointed out that the state taxes that industry at a rate of over 50% and it is calculated on the top line - the revenue line - not the bottom line, the profits. The state takes its take before expenses.

Based on the fact that state takes more than half of the revenue - again understand that this more than half of revenue, not the profits - the state of West Virginia is in essence the majority shareholder of the entire gaming industry. That isn’t really “state sponsored gambling”, it’s something else. Therefore, any funds that the state provides for the gaming industry aren’t really subsidies, to my mind they can be looked at as shareholder contributions to capital improvements.

In my humble opinion, the state should normalize the industry tax-wise, therefore truly privatizing it. That would end the “state sponsored” qualification referenced in the platform item. It would also free up capital that the industry could then reinvest to make the local industry more competitive with the new competition that is coming on board in neighboring states. Just my two cents.

All in all, the WVGOP platform is a good one that helps keep the momentum going. The 2012 platform provided the basis for a successful election cycle for the WVGOP and the 2016 edition should help to continue that success. Our job as voters is to hold candidates and elected officials accountable to the party platform. If we do, West Virginia is on the right track.

West Virginia recently had a birthday - happy 153rd to our great state. This weekend we celebrate the birth of our great nation, born 240 years ago. I wish everyone a great Independence Day and Fourth of July weekend.