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DEVON TENNANT

PROCTOR — West Virginia House of Delegates District 7 candidate Devon Tennant believes he has a forward-looking vision for the future of West Virginia as one of the youngest candidates for a seat in the Legislature.

Tennant, 19, is the Democratic nominee for House of Delegates District 7. He faces incumbent Charles R. Sheedy Jr., a Republican.

The sophomore honor student at Bethany College was inspired to run after interning for former delegate Dave Pethtel during the 2022 session.

“Wetzel County was split into four different delegate districts during the regular session of the legislature in 2020 and my former delegate from Wetzel County was Dave (Pethtel),” Tennant said. “Currently we are represented by gentlemen from Marshall, Tyler, Harrison and Monongalia counties, and I feel like that’s fractional representation. If I’m elected, I would be bringing representation back to Wetzel County that has been lost for the past two years.”

If elected, Tennant said he would “provide a voice” for those living in the rural areas of Marshall and Wetzel counties.

“I’ve been raised in a rural community, so I understand the struggles of the communities and our needs and necessities,” Tennant said.

Tennant identified the “biggest challenges” for his district and West Virginia as a whole is the “attack on public education” and the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency increasing insurance rates.

“The recent PEIA increases approved by the state Legislature directly affects the folks in my district,” the Proctor resident said. “Where I differ from my opponent (Sheedy) is that if my district is primarily made up of public employees or servants, I’m going to be more likely to vote for legislation that would help those people. I think we need to have a healthy working economy and we need to give people as many options and as many helping hands as we can.”

Tennant hopes to assist his constituents while in the Legislature by securing “good-paying jobs” for his area. He said the state needs to raise its minimum wage to get residents “off of dependent programs,” including welfare.

“If a lot of politicians say, ‘We have too many people dependent on these programs,’ we need to give those people the available resources to get them off of these programs,” Tennant said. “Most people in my district that are on these programs also had parents and grandparents on these programs, it’s generational. I think as somebody younger and more focused on the future of West Virginia, we need to be more mindful of how we can give the everyday worker a helping hand to help them raise families and get them to a financial state where they don’t have to worry about bills.”

If elected, Tennant would also seek to increase income tax reductions for the working class, as he noted “only the top percentages of folks” in the state were really impacted by the West Virginia House of Delegates passing a bill this year to cut the state’s personal income tax by 2%.

“I feel like West Virginiains have been misled multiple times by this current legislation, primarily with these income tax reductions because the Legislature saying ‘We’re going to cut 5% off that tax’ sounds good, but how much does that really save the average person out there working for their family?” Tennant asked. “That 5% tax reduction, which eventually came to be a 2% reduction, saved some residents about $200 a year. That’s not even the cost of child care for a week or two.”

Tennant noted as a young candidate he had the future of the state in mind, adding that West Virginia could “really benefit” from a “good, solid” working class.

“The best way we can create a dependable working class is by pushing policies and initiatives to make it a possibility for people in West Virginia to live the American dream,” Tennant said. “I feel like for people in my generation, the American dream has become something that just isn’t obtainable.

“If elected, I would do everything I can to make the American dream attainable for the average, everyday West Virginia because those are the folks that matter to me.”