(Written by Savannah Jones)

MONONGALIA COUNTY W.Va – Delegate Geno Chiarelli R. Monongalia said his main goal pending his re-election is to improve the quality of life in Morgantown.

Chiarelli said he feels Morgantown has taken a steep quality decline since he arrived in 2013 to attend West Virginia University, and he hopes to improve the quality of life for residents.

“Morgantown has taken a quality decline over the last decade or so. I know people that are leaving because of it. I want to do what we can to turn that around, especially [with] Monongalia County being one of the three fastest-growing counties,” he said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”

Chiarelli looks to defeat Democrat Diane Market-Gaston in November to secure his third term at the Capitol. He said he was determined to make change during the past session and will continue to do so if he is re-elected.

“I’m not a rookie anymore. I went into this session focused. I said, ‘There are things that I want to get done.’ There are things that I said I was going to get done during my campaign, and I meant it,” he said.

During the past legislative session, Chiarelli passed two bills: House Bill 4667, prohibiting the distribution of smoking devices by syringe services, and House Bill 5188, which relates to awards and benefits for municipal police officers and firefighters who are injured on the job.

Chiarelli said one of his main priorities will be to tackle the drug epidemic in Morgantown and in the state.

“With the drug epidemic, a lot of people are uncomfortable talking about that topic; however, all of my career experience leads me to the fact that I must continue to discuss it,” he said. “The drug epidemic is not only affecting quality of life of Morgantown in severe ways; it’s also affecting the state as a whole.”

Specifically, Chiarelli outlined several bills he will continue to advocate for, one of which is House Bill 4856, which would limit the number of vape and head shops in the county to one per 15,000 residents.

Chiarelli said he feels the number of vape and tobacco stores in Morgantown does not properly reflect the town, and he would like to see a more diverse range of businesses, specifically downtown.

Additionally, Chiarelli referenced House Bill 4436, which was not passed during the last session. The bill aims to align municipal elections with other state elections, holding them on the same day.

Chiarelli said he will continue to advocate for the bill, hoping to increase the turnout in city elections.

“When it comes to these city elections, I don’t like seeing cities end their elections with a single-digit percentage turnout. I don’t think that that’s how it should work. We need to hear more input from people, residents, owners when it comes to these kinds of things,” he said.

Finally, Chiarelli spoke on House Bill 4867, a bill aimed at requiring age verification for usage of pornographic websites. He said the bill was discussed heavily last session, but there was ultimately not enough time to pass it.

He said he is confident that it will pass during the next session, as both parties had agreed upon the language of the bill at the conclusion of the 2024 session.

Chiarelli said he is confident that the Republican Party will remain united, specifically under the leadership of nominee Patrick Morrisey.

“Now that the primary’s over, Patrick Morrisey is the nominee, the party is united behind him, and he will most certainly win in November, and we’re all excited to work with him,” he said.

For more information on Chiarelli’s campaign, visit his Facebook page, Geno Chiarelli for Delegate