Morgantown delegates discuss outcomes of 2025 legislative session

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Morgantown Area Partnership hosted its annual Legislative Wrap-Up on Thursday, where members of the partnership and local business owners were invited to hear about delegates' ventures in the most recent legislative session and ask questions about it.
All legislators relative to Monongalia County were invited, and delegates Anitra Hamilton (D-Monongalia), Evan Hansen (D-Monongalia), Joe Statler (R-Monongalia) and John Williams (D), alongside senators Joey Garcia (D-Marion) and Mike Oliverio (R-Monongalia) were in attendance.
At the start of the meeting, each delegate was allowed three minutes to summarize their opinions on what was accomplished within the legislative session, to which many agreed was not much.
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'I've seen a number of different sessions over time and this is probably the worst that I've ever seen as far as how little we got done and how much we focused on things that don't matter—or to the extent that they matter, they matter to the purpose of driving people apart instead of trying to really solve the problem,' Sen. Garcia said.
After every delegate spoke, audience members wrote out questions that varied from 'what can be done on their level?' As well as 'what can be done through the legislative process to better suit the citizens of Monongalia County and its surrounding areas?'
12 News spoke with Russ Rogerson, President and CEO of Morgantown Area Partnership, on the significance of hosting events like this one.
'We're able to kind of pull these folks together, take time out of their busy schedule. You know, being in government is not an 'in-session thing, it's ongoing and somewhat 24/7 and likewise on business, being able to take time out of their busy days and come here and be able to have this open conversation,' Rogerson said.
Morgantown Area Partnership hosts sessions like this one annually and a few more before the legislative session to help better prepare delegates on how to better serve their regions.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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