West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin

Manchin Orders Mine Stand-Down for Safety Inspections: As a result of the latest mine accdidents, Gov. Joe Manchin declared, “I am calling on the industry to cease production activities immediately and go into a Mine Safety Stand Down. This means that starting with the current shift, and each new shift after that, the mine companies, supervisors, and the miners themselves are to engage in a thorough review of safety procedures before any work is to continue.” Click here for more information


Manchin Signs Mine Safety Legislation into Law: Gov. Joe Manchin today signed into law mine safety legislation, introduced and approved by the West Virgnia Legislature earlier this week, that represents the first major step toward ensuring that West Virginia’s mines are the safest in the nation.
Click here for more information


Governor Issues Statement Following Completion of Aracoma Mine Rescue Effort. Gov. Joe Manchin addresses members of the media during a briefing Saturday, Jan. 21, following the conclusion of rescue efforts to locate two missing miners at the Aracoma Mine operation near Logan, WV. Click here to listen.
For more information, click here.

Governor Selects Davitt McAteer As Special Advisor To Monitor Sago Mine Tragedy State, Federal Investigations
Gov. Joe Manchin announced that Davitt McAteer, former assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor and a noted authority on mine safety, has agreed to serve as a special advisor to the governor on the investigation into last week’s Sago Mine Tragedy in Upshur County. Read more.

---

As the Governor of West Virginia and the 2006 Vice Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, I welcome you to the DGA Governor’s Spotlight, where we feature Democratic Governors’ innovative policies.

One of the first things I did when I became Governor in 2004 was to declare West Virginia “Open for Business.” We’ve worked hard to improve our state’s economic climate so we can keep and create good paying jobs with health care benefits for West Virginia’s skilled workforce. Working with the Legislature, we fixed the state’s workers’ compensation system, instituted insurance reforms, established the first comprehensive teacher pay package in more than 15 years, decreased the state’s debt, strengthened its ethics laws and reduced the food tax. As energy prices reach record highs, I have also capped the state’s gas tax in 2006 so we don’t put an additional burden on citizens and families in our state.

In this online Governor’s Spotlight, you can see some highlights of the good things that are happening in West Virginia. To learn more about what we’re doing to make West Virginia a stronger, more economically vibrant state, please visit my Web site: http://www.wvgov.org.

Thank you for visiting the DGA Web site, and enjoy your time in the Governor’s Spotlight.

Sincerely,
Governor Joe Manchin
West Virginia
DGA Vice Chair

---

Recent Press Releases

Manchin Signs Executive Order Capping Gasoline Tax

Manchin Welcomes Chesapeake Energy to State

Corporation for National and Community Service Recognizes West Virginia for Excellence in Efforts

Manchin Announces New ‘Mountaineer Mortgage Plus … Renovations’ Home Loan Program

Manchin Announces Plans For November Special Session

---

News Articles

WV – Manchin Draws Bipartisan Praise for Handling of Disaster: For nearly a month, Gov. Joe Manchin has been a fixture on front pages and television news shows, handling back-to-back coal mining tragedies with compassion and a commitment to action. In one day, the first-term Democrat ushered a landmark mine-safety bill through the state legislature, and then went to Washington to urge federal lawmakers to do the same. Manchin plays down his newfound popularity, saying he will use it to improve education and job opportunities for West Virginia families. “I’m very honored by this,” he said, “but I think it’s something that should be used very constructively for our state.” http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060130/NEWS0104/601300378/1008/NEWS01

Manchin Ranked Nation’s Favorite Governor: In the midst of what could shape up to be the toughest month of his tenure, Gov. Joe Manchin has been ranked the nation’s favorite Governor. SurveyUSA, which does monthly political polls of residents in all 50 states, found more West Virginians are happy with Manchin’s performance than residents of any other state are with their own Governor. Manchin’s approval rating in the state was 80 percent as of this week, up from 67 percent just one month ago. http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2006012522/

Manchin Petitions For Mine Safety
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin wants to make sure there aren’t any more mining tragedies in West Virginia or anywhere else. He is in Washington this week to push for mine safety improvements at the federal level. “It’s time for us to start doing what’s right for the people of this country and what’s right for the people for our state. We’re going to make sure that we continue to move and make the mines in West Virginia the safest they possibly can be,” Manchin said. West Virginia lawmakers have already approved the governor’s plans to require electronic trackers and oxygen stations in all mines. Additional rescue teams are also planned.
http://www.wtov9.com/news/6438475/detail.html

Editorial: Manchin Puts State on Right Track for Economic Future

Manchin has Opportunity to Build West Virginia into Energy Powerhouse

West Virginia buying property for disaster housing

As a Governor and the 2006 Vice Chair of the DGA, I welcome you to the DGA Governor’s Spotlight. One of the first things I did when I became Governor in 2004 was to declare West Virginia “Open for Business.”

Click here to learn more.

Copyright & Paid for by The Democratic Governors Association

A Bullseye Project