Click on this for printable version: Voters Guide Primary 2016 Secretary of State
Voters Guide WV Secretary of State May 10, 2016 Primary Election
This candidate information is brought to you by the League of Women Voters of West Virginia as a public service. Candidate responses are printed exactly as received, including spelling, grammar and content. Candidates’ responses were limited to 60 words.
Candidates for WV Secretary of State
Democratic Candidates for WV Secretary of State
Candidate of Residence: Natalie Tennant
County: Kanawha
Party: Democrat
Biography
I have been Secretary of State for eight years where we provide innovation to you to save businesses time and money; I cut costs, saved money and gave back more than four million dollars to taxpayers; I protected our elections and served our military.
I have a Bachelors and Master’s degree from WVU.
Please visit www.natalietennant.com
- What changes would you like to see in West Virginia’s election laws?I have a record of upholding the integrity of elections for voters. I recently championed legislation that makes it easier to keep voter rolls clean of those who have moved or died. We recently started successful our Online Voter Registration and will soon implement Automatic Voter Registration to make it easier for those who are eligible to vote.
- What changes need to be made in the way that campaign donor identities and campaign expenditures are made to the public?There is too much money used in political campaigns. To change that, Citizens United opinion must be overturned because it allows unlimited funds that are not easily identified. On the state level, I have updated the Campaign Financing Reporting System that makes it easier for citizens to view candidates’ reports of those who have contributed and what candidates spend.
Candidate: Patsy Trecost
County of Residence:
Party: Democrat
Candidate did not reply.
Republican Candidates for WV Secretary of State
Candidate: Barry Holstein
County of Residence: Kanawha
Party: Republican
Biography
Married with 2 children, I am a combat veteran, retired Army Reserve 1SG, experienced operations
manager, and son of a WV coal miner. As a native West Virginian, I graduated from WV Tech and the
University of Charleston. My values are exhibited in my service to God, family, and country.
www.rally.org/barryholstein
- What changes would you like to see in West Virginia’s election laws?The right of the citizens to elect their representatives in government is vital to a democracy and we must do what is necessary to protect the integrity of the election process. For that reason, I support voter id laws that provide a free photo identification card to West Virginia citizens who do not possess an approved form of identification.
- What changes need to be made in the way that campaign donor identities and campaign expenditures are made to the public?We must find a way to disconnect the donor from the candidate. By doing this we avoid the practice of gaining favors or access based on donations to campaigns. Blind trusts can be created to accept political donations whereby the candidate would not know who donated and therefore the transaction of favors for donations can not occur.
Candidate: Mac Warner
County of Residence: Monongalia
Party: Republican
Biography
I have extensive legal and military experience and spent my career serving my country abroad and teaching across the world. I spent five years with the US State Department in Afghanistan working to build a functional, legitimate government. From my experience I understand we need to build a government people can trust so prosperity can follow. http://www.warnerforwvsos.com/
- What changes would you like to see in West Virginia’s election laws?Promote healthy democracy through fair elections. It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat. I will work with County Clerks to clean up the voter rolls and improve our election process. Fair elections encourage voter participation, and participation promotes faith in government.
- What changes need to be made in the way that campaign donor identities and campaign expenditures are made to the public?With protecting our democracy comes protecting our first amendment rights. Transparent, free speech equals more voices, new voices, more information and more participation – all good things. Empowering candidates and political parties helps keep the process transparent. West Virginia has transparent campaign finance laws, now we need to follow them and create an equal playing field for all in our state.