Secretary of State Tennant Is Too Thin Skinned

I saw this first on House candidate Cindy Frich's Facebook page. Then, thinking it was a statement by the Secretary of State herself, I looked up a part of the piece. It actually comes from the website of a TV station in Harrisonburg, Virginia of all places. Obviously a journalist wrote this piece at some point. Note the heavy bias in the piece.

But that is not the issue. The issue is that this is an election year and each political party and candidate will try to gain whatever advantage it can. WVGOP chair Mike Stuart is putting pressure on the Democratic Secretary of State in the same way that Bobby Huggins this winter will work officials at West Virginia basketball games. You want them to know that you are paying attention and will react if you are not doing your job properly.

It's business. It's part of the job. It's Mike Stuart's job to gain advantages for the state Republicans and part of Tennant's job to fairly administer elections. Secretary of State Tennant needs to toughen up a little because she is reacting too personally to Republican challenges.


CHARLESTON — Once again West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant is standing by the law when it comes to conducting elections in the state of West Virginia.
The latest baseless allegation from the state Republican Party says that Monongalia County Democratic Headquarters cannot be located in an area near an early voting site.
“Instead of working in a posi­tive manner for the betterment of West Virginia, the West Virginia Republican Party chairman con­tinues to issue personal attacks and frivolous lawsuits against me and this office, when in fact we are standing on the West Virginia code,” Tennant said.
West Virginia code section 3-3-2a(d)(5) says: “No person may do any electioneering … on the property of the county court­house, any annex facilities or any other designated early vot­ing locations within the county, during the entire period of regu­lar in-person absentee voting.”
This code shows that a head­quarters can be located near a county’s early voting site because the 300-foot election­eering zone is not applicable during early voting.
“GOP Chairman Mike Stuart threatens to open a Republican location near the site and I say ‘go for it.’ I am sure the Mountaineer Mall would appre­ciate the boost in its economy for the next three weeks.
“Furthermore, if he wants to continue with his personal attacks on me, my background and who I am, that is fine, I can stand up to them. If he is attack­ing me, then he is not picking on someone else,” Tennant said.
Tennant also said that she has the utmost confidence and respect for the Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney and knows that the clerk will not tol­erate any campaigning at the early voting site.
“Time and time again we have proven Chairman Stuart’s frivo­lous allegations incorrect and at every turn we have followed the law.”