I am Keith Lahti. I live in Northern Clay County and
have operated my pottery business here for 46 years. I have had a
daughter in the Clay County schools. WV has been good to me and I
have the best neighbors in the world on Walker Creek!
Over the decades I have observed my beloved West
Virginia lag behind other states and our own potential, in part
because our political process has been highly influenced by big
money, much of it coming from out-of-state owned special
interests. I have watched incredible amounts of West Virginia's
precious and valuable resources be used to benefit wealthy
interests and many of these benefits have gone to out-of-state
interests and a very wealthy few. This has been at the expense of
West Virginia's education system, environment, health care,
infrastructure, our in-state owned businesses and many other
aspects of our well-being. A look at areas of WV where coal,
timber, etc. have come and gone illustrates this clearly.
With exceptions, our politicians have all too often
passed legislation that benefits the big corporations and the very
wealthy. This is not surprising, as that is where the money comes
from to keep them in office. Tax policy, regulation, and the like
are skewed very much in the direction of the big donors. The
regular West Virginia small business person, working person, small
farmer, caregiver, teacher, nurse, etc. has very little say in the
way state government responds to needs of the majority of West
Virginians.
In the summer of 2018, a fellow named Stephen Smith
was criss-crossing the state, visiting
folk's homes, and asking what we would like to see WV become, and
giving ideas on how to make that happen. He had lunch in my
kitchen and talked with me and several friends. That fall, Stephen
announced that he was running for Governor, in a very different
type of campaign. I have been interested in this campaign
since the beginning.
Stephen Smith refuses to take any, not one dime, of
corporate or dark money. He has broken the all-time records for
the numbers of small individual donations in WV. He is not wealthy
and has zero corporate ties. His idea from the beginning, has been
that we are all leaders and decision makers, not just him.
To do this he has held multiple Town Halls in every one of the 55
counties in WV, listening to what people want and need. His
campaign has conducted over 11,000 interviews with West Virginians
to find out what we need and made policy around those needs. I
guided him through Clay County on one of his trips here. He
listened to teachers, school bus drivers, library staff,
counselors, Committee on Aging staff, law enforcement, the Mayor,
and many people on the street. That is how he formulates policy,
from the bottom up, NOT from the top down. Lobbyists and big money
have zero influence on him, and he is all for giving homegrown
West Virginia businesses a level playing field
This is the movement and the ideas that I have been
waiting for my whole life. Stephen Smith can help West Virginia
become what it should be, by using our wealth, resources, and
amazing people to benefit our own state instead of flowing out to
wealthy special interests. This is the best chance to see the
change we need in West Virginia.
(by the way, Stephen is all for 2nd Amendment rights and DOES NOT
want to take your guns away!)
You can check this out in detail at
https://wvcantwait.com/. If you want to connect directly with
Stephen Smith, you can contact him at Stephen@wvcantwait.com.
PLEASE VOTE, and take a good look at Stephen Smith for Governor!