Dog club, old school politics and Woelfel Watch
A West Virginia Weakly Sunday Column for March 9, 2025
I won’t promise that the WV Weakly will churn out a column each Sunday.
I’d like to see that happen. I really would — but the idea is more aspirational than anything else. After all, your Weakly editors are busy guys. I won’t speak for Dave, but in my case, in addition to the job that pays the household bills and the time I spend on the road just getting to the job that pays the household bills, I have a dog who looks at me with those eyes when it’s time for … Dog Club.
A group of us dog people here on the eastern frontier of West Virginia get together at least once a day, twice more often than not, to give our dogs a chance to run and play and poop and pee. While the dogs relieve themselves and sniff each other’s butts catch up with the pack, the conversation among the humans in our little group often turns to Washington, D.C.
I don’t have to tell you that between Ukraine, DOGE, tariffs and the general whirlwind that is the Trump administration, there’s a lot to talk about.
A couple of weeks ago, one member of our dog group invited me to join an entirely different group that I’m calling “The Old School Breakfast Club.” Turns out, I’m not getting any younger.
TOSBC (for short) meets each Thursday morning at a local restaurant for an intentional discussion of politics. It’s made up of lawyers, doctors and, yes, old school West Virginia politicos. Like the state Legislature, Republicans hold the supermajority of seats at the table, some more conservative than others but Republican nonetheless. There’s only one token Democrat. The weekly meeting seems like a microcosm of the balance of legislative power in Charleston, where Republicans far outnumber Democrats.
I like to go breakfast club because it’s a journalist’s job to seek out and understand what people are thinking and saying. And as you would expect, the main topic of discussion is President Trump, but these guys are also keeping up with the regular legislative session.
The first time I took my seat at the table, a discussion of one of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s priorities broke out. Morrisey wants to repeal the Certificate of Need process. CON, as it’s called, has been a feature of West Virginia’s health care scene for decades.
Supporters say a repeal of the law that requires healthcare providers get government permission before creating or expanding services would open up competition in the state’s health care sector. In his State of the State address, Morrisey called CON “big government activism as its worst.”
The repeal is supported by conservative groups including the Cardinal Institute and Americans for Prosperity.
The West Virginia Hospital Association has emerged as a major opponent of the repeal push, saying CON is vital to maintaining West Virginia’s hospital system.
The CON repeal bill narrowly failed to advance out of the House Health and Human Resources Committee, but Gov. Morrisey has pledged to continue the fight. However, if Sen. Mike Woelfel (D-Cabell) has anything to do with it, the acrimony surrounding the failure of the House’s CON bill won’t happen when the Senate starts moving its version.
Last week, Sen. Woelfel accused Gov. Morrisey’s office of interfering with the legislative process, of telling GOP lawmakers to block any Democratic amendments after one of his own wasn’t considered during a committee meeting. He delivered a floor speech demanding the minority be party be respected, and he threatened to start having bills read in their entirety beginning tomorrow if the meddling didn’t stop.
Woelfel’s speech followed reporting about heavy-handed tactics allegedly employed by the governor’s office ahead of the House Health Committee vote on CON, including a threat to primary Republican delegates if they didn’t support the bill.
Democrats may not have much legislative power — there are only two in the state Senate — but Woelfel’s threat shows that if they have a mind, they can grind things to a halt.
See you back here tomorrow morning for the WV Weakly Legislative Daybook.
We’ll be on Woeflel Watch.
Right now, though, my dog is giving me those eyes.
Time for Dog Club.
Sources:
‘We’re not errand boys’ — Woelfel says Morrisey interfering in bill making, blocking Democrats ~ Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
Reporter’s Notebook: The wrath of CON ~ Steven Allen Adams, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Correction: The original post had Sen. Mike Woelfel as representing Greenbrier County. He, in fact, represents a Cabell County district.