This article originally provided by
Sunday
Gazette-Mail
April 16, 2006
Newcomer helps put Senate race at top in spending
By Tom Searls
Staff writer
It is this year’s ultimate primary election battle for a state Senate seat,
with three Democrats splitting up the field and spending more than candidates in
any of the state’s other 16 districts.
Two of the candidates are established Raleigh County politicians, but they
haven’t raised and spent as much combined as a 32-year-old greyhound breeder,
who has never run for office.
Mike Green reported spending $156,000 for the 9th District Senate seat,
representing Raleigh and Wyoming counties, by the end of March. He hasn’t
stopped spending.
“I know we’ve spent more at this point,” Green said last week.
“Once we decided to run, we were going to run to win.”
Green, previously a lobbyist representing greyhound breeders at the
Legislature, said he needed to spend that amount to get his name as well known
as his opponents: Sally Susman, a state delegate, and Bill Wooton, a former
state senator.
Having loaned himself $128,000, Green has been on TV since last fall and is
saturating radio and TV airwaves in the region. He believes his strategy is
working, and says his polls show a statistical dead heat among the three going
into the final four weeks of the campaign.
“[Susman and Wooton] are looking at the same polling numbers we are and I
think we’ve surprised them,” he said.
When he announced his campaign last year, Green told The Register-Herald of
Beckley he planned to spend up to $250,000.
Susman, who has received one $1,000 contribution and loaned her campaign
$72,600, had spent $58,299 at the end of the first reporting period. She
believes she’ll be forced to pour more of her own cash into the race.
She can match Green’s spending. “I reckon,” she said. “But who wants to?”
Green has identified himself to voters as a property developer, a business he
only recently entered. Both Susman and Wooton are quick to point out Green has
earned a lot of money from the state greyhound breeders’ fund.
“He gets mad when anybody mentions he has any ties to the track,” Susman
said.
“Green’s only experience is he’s been a lobbyist and he’s tied to gambling,”
said Wooton.
“He’s gotten about $30,700 in contributions for his campaign and the largest
amount is [from] greyhound breeders,” Susman said.
Wooton called it money from “gambling interests.”
Their criticism doesn’t surprise Green. He has polled that issue, too, and
said voters don’t seem concerned.
Kennel operators and greyhound breeders from Wheeling and Putnam County, as
well as states like Kansas and Arizona, have donated to Green’s campaign, along
with the president of a firm that owns one of the state’s four tracks.
“About half [of my donations] come from kennel operators and breeders who are
just personal friends I’ve made over the years,” Green said.
“Apparently either they are finding ways to funnel money to him or [greyhound
breeding is] the most lucrative business that there ever was,” said Wooton, a
former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.
“It can’t possibly help him to have that gambling money,” said Susman.
She finds it odd a single “industry is plowing that much into a race.” But
she believes that’s the source of Green’s campaign funds. “I don’t think I’ve
ever seen that,” she said.
Green graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1991, then was a biology
major at Concord College before being employed for a short time as a Beckley
police officer. After that he got into the greyhound breeding business.
Since 2001, state records show he has been paid more than $260,0000 from the
state Greyhound Breeding Development Fund. “I suspect that people are going to
be a little concerned about his business background and the source of his
money,” Wooton said.
Susman questioned why the racing industry would place so much money into a
state Senate race. “Maybe the track people want it for table games
[legislation],” she said referring to proposals defeated two consecutive years
to allow casino-style table games at the state’s four racetracks.
“I’m not for the expansion of gambling,” said Green, who does favor the
proposal to allow residents of the four counties with racetracks to vote on
allowing casino-style gambling.
Susman, he said, voted to legalize video lottery, or slot, machines at
neighborhood bars throughout the state. “That’s been more of an expansion of
gambling than the four destination tracks,” he said.
“He’s running a tough race,” conceded Wooton, who raised $76,530 and spent
slightly more than $17,000 by the end of the first reporting period.
The former senator noted he received contributions from 160 Raleigh County
residents. “I was real pleased with my fundraising,” he said.
As of last week, Wooton had not placed ads on TV. Susman had earlier stopped
her television advertising for a short time and started back last week. “I’ll
stay on the air until the election,” she said.
She’s not certain what all the exposure has done for Green’s campaign. “I
can’t tell what’s going on but surely Green’s making some headway,” she said.
Wooton may be watching what Susman is doing more than the biggest spender. “I
think the real competition for me is Susman,” he said.
Four years ago, Wooton was upset in his re-election bid by little-known
Republican Russ Weeks. Weeks and his allies used Wooton’s pro-choice stance on
abortion against him in the campaign.
This time around, both of Wooton’s Democratic opponents are making a big deal
of being anti-abortion.
“When I took the poll early on, almost 70 percent of Democrats said they
wouldn’t vote for anyone that wasn’t pro-life,” Susman said.
Green also says he is anti-abortion, but has tried to not attack opponents.
“We’ve made so much gains by being positive and talking about issues,” he said.
For him, those issues are new coal technology, jobs and economic development.
“That’s what we based our campaign on,” he said.
“He doesn’t have a record,” retorted Susman.
Green thinks his lack of a record and youth have turned out to be positives.
“People are tired of the status quo,” he said.
The United Mine Workers and both of the state’s teachers’ organizations have
endorsed Susman. That should help her in neighboring Wyoming County, she
believes.
“That’s pretty much the base of support [for Wooton] in Wyoming County,” she
said.
Susman said she is also not certain what Wooton’s campaign is doing. “He’s
got the courthouse behind him,” she said.
Wooton points out he has never been a lobbyist, or related to one. “Susman,
both her husband and son/campaign manager are lobbyists,” he said.
Susman has said her husband, Alan, a longtime member of the state Parkways,
Economic Development and Tourism Authority that governs the West Virginia
Turnpike, did not tell her in advance when the authority raised tolls on the
88-mile road by 60 percent in December. That set off a public furor, with the
authority finally agreeing to roll back the increase.
Authority members said raising tolls was a necessity because the Legislature
mandated it construct an interchange at Shady Spring in Raleigh County prior to
any other capital projects. Susman worked hard several years before to gain
passage of the interchange mandate, which critics said was to serve residents of
Glade Springs resort.
Susman has since voted to rescind that project and worked to roll back the
toll increase. Wooton, however, said voters realize she played a part in the
problem.
“People are upset about the tolls, but the comment I hear people saying is,
‘How dumb does she think we are?’” he said.
He wants the Senate to put more emphasis on health care, saying the House of
Delegates has been more aggressive in that area. Like all candidates, he is
pushing for economic development, but said that can only occur with additional
infrastructure. The state has scant funds to spend on such projects, with much
going to the districts of powerful politicians.
“If you have effective representation in the Legislature, you can get your
share,” he said.
Susman is emphasizing family values, new highways and jobs. “There’s just
projects down here that we need to get everything moving on,” she said.
To contact staff writer Tom Searls, use e-mail or call 348-5192.
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