SMITH VISITS WEIRTON — Stephen Smith, a Democratic candidate for West Virginia governor in the 2020 election, met with residents Wednesday while visiting Weirton. Smith is in the midst of a tour of the state as part of the launch of his campaign. -- Craig Howell

WEIRTON — He was the first to declare his candidacy for the 2020 West Virginia governor’s race, and the first to stump in the Northern Panhandle.

Stephen Smith, who filed his pre-candidacy paperwork in July and officially launched his efforts for the governor’s seat in November, visited the Weirton area Wednesday, meeting with residents, business owners, educators and more to talk about his plans for the state’s future.

The trip, which included a stop at Mario’s Restaurant Wednesday night with about a dozen residents, is part of an ongoing tour of the state for the Democrat.

Smith explained he doesn’t want to have a campaign as he said many have had, where they come to the area, make a bunch of promises of how they will stay in touch with the residents of the Northern Panhandle, or another area of the state, and work on addressing all their needs.

“Then they get to Charleston, and they forget the Northern Panhandle is a part of West Virginia,” he said.

Smith discussed three areas of focus for his campaign Wednesday, including the idea of opening regional offices throughout the state, with an individual from each area acting as a type of “deputy governor.”

“That way there is a direct line to the governor’s office in every part of the state,” Smith said.

A second area of focus, and one he said has been raised by many of those he’s met, is issues with the state’s roads and highways. He said organizing programs such as the road bonds to upgrade select roads, making promises, is the “perfect example of what’s wrong with politics.”

“They sprinkle a little fairy dust on all parts of the state,” he said.

Instead, Smith is proposing a works-progress administration, focusing on not only rebuilding existing roads and constructing new roads, but also creating jobs for those who need them.

“That way you can solve those two problems with the same solution,” Smith said.

He also wants to work on changing the focus of the economy, explaining most of those who currently benefit are a small number of large companies and other interests from outside of West Virginia.

The goal, he said, would be to rewrite the state’s tax code to provide more favorability for small businesses, entrepreneurs and family operations.

“None of the other 49 states are competing for those folks,” Smith said.

Smith is the founder and executive director of the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition. He was born in Charleston, but spent much of his youth in Texas before attending Harvard where he earned a degree in sociology. He spent time involved with an AIDS organization in Botswana and then worked with youth in Chicago, before moving to London where he earned a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

He and his wife returned to West Virginia six years ago.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)