Charles Horst – Candidate for WV House District 95

I moved to Berkeley county WV in 1974 and have lived and raised a family here. I opened up my own auto repair shop in 1998 and worked for myself as a sole proprietor until I retired in 2020 with the intention to run for office.

Prior to being elected in 2020 I had been very active in advocating for 2nd amendment rights in WV. Advocating for the 2nd often led me to lobbing and working with our elected state officials, including helping some get elected and opposing others. Along the way I learned much about the legislature, and some of the inner workings, which ultimately led me to run for House of Delegates.

WV has many important issues that overlap, which creates very complex issues when it comes to trying to address the issues, this makes it hard to pick the top two issues.

WV has been losing population for years, to turn that around we need a diverse economy with good paying jobs, which requires a well educated workforce and higher workforce participation. While much has been done with education there is more needed and one issue is how to deal with disruptive students in the classroom so others can learn. We desperately need some form of locality pay or housing allowance for teachers and other state workers, especially here in the eastern panhandle. The problem has been reaching a consensus in order to have the votes to pass locality pay or housing allowance.

I have personally been working to restore Liberty issues dealing with the 4th amendment.

“Those Who Would Give Up Essential Liberty For Safety Shall Have Neither!”
( Benjamin Franklin)

While I do not have a primary opponent for contrast. I believe my background of being a blue collar worker and owner operator of my own business for over 20 years gives me a unique perspective in understanding the struggles of the people in the 95th district and all West Virginians.

Working with others often is not that complicated, many times it is a matter of listening or explaining the issue, sometimes a matter of finding common ground where agreement can be reached. My experience in the legislature has been that most if not all want to do the right thing, sometimes just a difference of opinion of how to get there.

Every day is a new day with new opportunities!