West Virginia State Democratic Party

West Virginia Democratic Party Platform

Economic Development

The West Virginia Democratic Party recognizes that our state is composed of many regions with differing economic circumstances and needs. Residents in some areas of our state historically have been dependent on extractive industries and are suffering from economic factors often beyond local control. More than half of West Virginia's population resides in counties that border other states and are greatly impacted by their neighbors. Still other areas, such as the Eastern Panhandle, have enjoyed some economic success, but still lag behind the national wage average.

The entire West Virginia economy must be reignited and its potential unleashed. Our 2004 Democratic team has the ability to lead our economy to previously unrealized heights.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Joe Manchin has an economic plan to make good-paying jobs available to hard-working West Virginia families. Joe Manchin has declared that West Virginia will be "open for business." When our citizens travel outside the state, they will be proud to say they are from West Virginia, which rapidly will become an economic force in the United States. There is no greater priority of the West Virginia Democratic Party than strengthening families, and a critical component in that effort is the availability of good-paying jobs. The West Virginia Democratic Party is committed to creating good-paying jobs and will:

• Continue investment in infrastructure and the state's transportation system;
• Work to retain existing businesses and help them expand;
• Work to attract continued outside investment, especially in the high-tech industries now developing around the country and the world; and,
• Continue to promote the tourism industry.

We recognize that communities must be prepared for growth and that ready-land for development is still a problem across the state. We believe the state and federal government must continue to help communities with water, sewer, highway access, site preparation and shell buildings for new industry.

We believe West Virginia must continue to upgrade its transportation system. New highways, airports, river ports and telecommunications facilities mean both construction jobs and access for economic growth. We are committed to finding environmentally responsible ways to complete West Virginia's Corridor system and are committed to accelerating other federally-supported highways. We must prioritize our road building and system of improvement projects to grow our economy. We must develop our river ports through both private and public enterprises. We must continue the maintenance, improvement and expansion of state-owned railroads and local public transit systems. We must continue building advanced telecommunications facilities.

The West Virginia Democratic Party recognizes that most jobs are created by small business and that only in a profitable environment can businesses employ West Virginians. We believe that government must work with labor and management to create a climate that promotes safe, stable and profitable employment.

While keeping our base strong, we believe the state must aggressively continue to recruit new business and diversify our economy. We will continue to seek both international and national investment and work to attract high-tech operations which can take advantage of our state's tremendous fiber-optic network.

Specifically the Democratic Party supports efforts to:

• Create Business Opportunity Zones to attract industry and jobs to West Virginia's hardest-hit regions;
• Create partnerships between institutions of higher education and West Virginia businesses to create manufacturing jobs;
• Revitalize local economic development councils;
• Aggressively explore new ways to use our natural resources;
• Aggressively increase our efforts to attract tourism;
• Review regulations to assure that they are supported by common sense and focus on results as well as streamline and simplify the business permitting process;
• Audit West Virginia's tax incentive program to make sure they are working to create new, good-paying jobs;
• Provide tax stability and predictability by effectively and efficiently managing state government and by increasing our economic base; and
• Ensure stability of the Workers' Compensation System.

We support the hiring of local workers to jobs that are funded with public money. We believe that the state must seek to identify, preserve and utilize state-owned properties and facilities which will be of value for tourism and other economic purposes in the communities where they are located.

The West Virginia Democratic Party will support Joe Manchin as he seeks to foster, encourage, assist, and grow our state's economy. While doing so, we will work to preserve the rights of our workers and citizens, keeping them safe and secure. This includes preserving their access to the court system and administrative agencies that protect the lives and livelihood of our people.