Fragale running for House of Delegates 70th District in Harrison County

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A longtime West Virginia legislator is vying for the House of Delegates seat in the newly established 70th District in Harrison County.

Ron Fragale, who has spent over 20 years as a member of the House of Delegates, looks to bring his vast experience in Charleston to represent a familiar group of Harrison County residents. After time served in the 41st and 48th Districts in the House of Delegates respectively, Fragale feels he can still bring positive representation to Clarksburg and Nutter Fort area residents.

“I’ve been the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Delegates for six years, I’ve been on probably all of the minor committees at one time or another,” said Fragale. “Education has been my main goal, I’m a former educator, and I’m looking forward to going back to Charleston,” he said.

As a longtime lawmaker, Fragale says one of his goals is to continue to aim for economic development in the 70th District, which mainly consists of Clarksburg and Nutter Fort. In order to do so, Fragale hopes to continue support for government jobs in the region and to create new avenues for the state to bring in qualified employers.

“The 78th District, Bridgeport, they have the FBI, they have a lot going on in that district and many of the people in my district do work there, so the needs of those places would have to be taken into consideration,” he said.

Fragale also hopes to bring more attention to West Virginia education, if he is able to advance in the 2022 Primary Election. As a former educator, he wants to focus on concerns brought by educators, which have varied over the course of a decade. Fragale would like to see educational decisions made at the local school board level.

“People on the school board, or people that run the schools, they run the whole county,” said Fragale on WAJR’s Talk of the Town. “So they’ll have some unique problems also,” he said.

Fragale will face fellow Harrison County educator Ryan Deems in the primary election.

On the Republican ticket, Tyler Hart, Paul Howe, Bryan Payne, and Mickey Pettito will face off in the 2022 Primary Election.

“I know my way around, I know what to do, and I know what it takes to get bills passed, and stopped at times,” he said. “And I think I’m, by far, the most qualified,” he said.

Early voting for the 2022 Primary Election begins on April 27. Election Day is May 10.