October 26, 2004

Massey CEO Defends Contribution

MetroNews Talkline
Morgantown

The race for the 12-year term on the state Supreme Court is one of the most active this election season. One of the key components has been the political action group "And for the Sake of the Kids." The group has targeted incumbent Democrat Warren McGraw for defeat. Campaign contributions reveal a large sum of the group's war chest has come from one man, Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.

Blankenship is no stranger to controversy. He's a marked man by the United Mine Workers Union and has spent a large share of his personal fortune in the Supreme Court race. During an interview live on MetroNews Talkline Monday, Blankenship pulled no punches when it came to his desire to see McGraw unseated.

"I just thought this would be the greatest donation I could make to West Virginia." Blankenship told Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval. "Warren McGraw is the biggest reason we don't have jobs and the chemical industry is falling apart in Charleston, southern West Virginia is a ghost town and I thought there was no better use for a donation than to beat Warren McGraw."

Financial statements reveal Blankenship has donated $1.7 Million of his own money into the anti-McGraw campaign.

Blankenship maintains it's money well spent for the state's future.

"It's a 12-year term. It's a vote that changes the makeup of the court. It's one of the three branches and it's one of a small group of people who decide how the rest of us have to live and he is single handedly the biggest problem that the state of West Virginia has so he's the target."

Blankenship linked Justice McGraw to his brother Attorney General Darrel McGraw, saying together the two have engaged in a deceitful campaign to use taxpayer money to win political support. Blankenship acknowledges however that he's never met McGraw, but believes his decisions have affected the ability of any business in the state to create new jobs.

"He's a bad character and he needs to go." Says Blankenship. "If we're going to turn West Virginia around and have jobs and make an improvement and the opportunity for our kids in West Virginia he's the main guy that needs to go."