Miller touting ‘outsider perspective’ in W.Va. governor race

FOLLANSBEE -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Miller wants to run West Virginia "like a business," and as an officer in the Dutch Miller chain of car dealerships, Miller believes he has the experience to handle that.

During a stop on his campaign trail at the Brooke County Senior Center Wednesday, Miller said he wants to combine his own business experience with his political knowledge to provide West Virginia residents with the "authenticity and realness they are dying to see."

Miller's family is no stranger to politics. His mother, Republican Carol Miller, currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives for West Virginia's 1st Congressional District. His grandfather, Samuel Devine, served in the U.S. House as an Ohio Republican from 1959-81. Miller believes his own background in business provides him with the "common sense" that he believes many politicians lack.

"The people are tired of the politicians and the canned speech that they hear all the time," said Miller. "People are dying for someone real who can get what they want done."

He described West Virginia as "almost having PTSD" due to the opioid epidemic and economic challenges. He wants to bring the state out of this rut to show residents "how great West Virginia can become."

The first step in fixing the problem for Miller is addressing the "major set of financial challenges" in the state that he sees "a bunch of solutions for." He added that his priorities in the Ohio Valley "overlap" with what is needed in the rest of West Virginia.

"There's people in our state that are hurt, we have a dilapidated foster care system and we have challenges with the cost of health care because of the size of our population," said Miller. "When you add it all up, the thing that we can do to fix it all is by growing the population, and how we grow the population is by creating the jobs and the economic opportunity."

He predicts the state will face catastrophe if 200,000 residents are not added in the next 10 to 12 years.

"Our biggest export so far for the state has not been coal or natural gas, but educated kids," said Miller. "What we need to do is create an economy that brings our kids back home and also keeps our kids here."

To create jobs and opportunities in the state, Miller wants to focus on using the "abundance of natural gas" and the "potential for nuclear power" in the area to turn West Virginia into "the battery of the East Coast." With this baseload of power in the state, he believes West Virginia can begin to "leverage its resources" to drive down the cost of living for residents.

He also believes businesses will be attracted to the abundance of cheap power in the state, and with more jobs, more people will come to live in West Virginia.

"We're living in a time where people are tired of being inside big cities, and West Virginia has a high quality of life and a low cost of living," Miller explained. "We've got a lot to offer, especially if we create an economy that really starts thriving."

To create this economy, Miller wants the state to be run "like a business," which he is confident in his abilities to do as a self-described "business guy," operating 26 businesses with more than 500 employees spread across West Virginia.

"I know what it's like to create jobs, take risks, and sign the front of the paycheck," added Miller. "I'm tired of watching politics and bureaucrats and attorneys do things the wrong way over and over again."

Miller decided to throw his hat in the ring and run once he witnessed the people of West Virginia, which is what he believes makes the state great, be neglected by a government "that does not work for them."

"West Virginia is the only place where a Tesla breaks down in coal country, and a bunch of coal miners will come out of mines to push it to a coal power generator to charge," said Miller. "We don't realize how great we are, and it's about time that we actually turn the system upside down and do something for ourselves."

He described seeing residents "dying for something authentic and real" while on the campaign trail, which he believes he can provide with his "outsider perspective."

"When you come to a senior center like this and start talking to people, you realize there are many in this state struggling to find food and other resources," noted Miller. "There's a lot of good people out there that need help."

To end the hardships of residents, Miller wants to cut down on the cost of living by preventing the "special deals" that out-of-state businesses receive through tax exemptions. Another way Miller says will level the playing field between out-of-state businesses and taxpayers is by cutting down the cost of power for residents.

"If we drive down the cost of power for our people and use that as the foundation for economic growth and development, we can do big things," said Miller. "We need to do something for everybody, not just the big businesses."