FLATWOODS - A statewide Democratic group hopes to ride the Obama administration's wave of momentum as it pushes for universal health care in West Virginia and an end to mountaintop removal.

The Progressive Democrats of West Virginia, which formed last year, held its first conference Saturday in Flatwoods. About 25 participants heard from state legislators, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, and representatives of social justice and labor groups.

Progressives have been "shunned" in the Mountain State, which has voted Republican in the last three presidential elections, said Malyka Knapp-Smith, a Charleston teacher and the group's treasurer.

"This is our way of saying, West Virginia needs change," she said.

The group is a chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America, whose mission is to "bring the Democratic Party back to its roots." It advocates for universal health care, fair trade, environmental protection and other issues.

In West Virginia, the group hopes to encourage people to educate themselves about the issues and contact their elected officials, Knapp-Smith said.

Its first priority this year will likely be single-payer health care. It also wants a ban on mountaintop removal, investment in wind energy, and public financing for campaigns, she said. 

On Saturday, state Sen. Jeff Kessler predicted that liberals excited about President Barack Obama's new administration will get more involved in politics at the local level.

"You're going to see that energy filtering down from Washington," he said. 

In the upcoming legislative session, Kessler plans to push for more funding of addiction counseling and mental health care - initiatives he says would alleviate the state's overcrowded prisons. He also wants to reintroduce a bill that would add sexual orientation to the state's Human Rights and Fair Housing acts. The state Senate unanimously passed the bill last year, but it died in the House.

FLATWOODS - A statewide Democratic group hopes to ride the Obama administration's wave of momentum as it pushes for universal health care in West Virginia and an end to mountaintop removal.

The Progressive Democrats of West Virginia, which formed last year, held its first conference Saturday in Flatwoods. About 25 participants heard from state legislators, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, and representatives of social justice and labor groups.

Progressives have been "shunned" in the Mountain State, which has voted Republican in the last three presidential elections, said Malyka Knapp-Smith, a Charleston teacher and the group's treasurer.

"This is our way of saying, West Virginia needs change," she said.

The group is a chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America, whose mission is to "bring the Democratic Party back to its roots." It advocates for universal health care, fair trade, environmental protection and other issues.

In West Virginia, the group hopes to encourage people to educate themselves about the issues and contact their elected officials, Knapp-Smith said.

Its first priority this year will likely be single-payer health care. It also wants a ban on mountaintop removal, investment in wind energy, and public financing for campaigns, she said. 

On Saturday, state Sen. Jeff Kessler predicted that liberals excited about President Barack Obama's new administration will get more involved in politics at the local level.

"You're going to see that energy filtering down from Washington," he said. 

In the upcoming legislative session, Kessler plans to push for more funding of addiction counseling and mental health care - initiatives he says would alleviate the state's overcrowded prisons. He also wants to reintroduce a bill that would add sexual orientation to the state's Human Rights and Fair Housing acts. The state Senate unanimously passed the bill last year, but it died in the House.

Others on a panel of legislators were Sen. Dan Foster and Delegates Carrie Webster, Bonnie Brown, Bobbie Hatfield, and Barbara Fleischauer.

The lawmakers discussed topics including the possibility of year-round schooling, increasing health care coverage, and campaign finance reform.

Fleischauer, who plans to work with veterans' education and health-care issues this year, said she's been in politics long enough to know that  "change doesn't happen quickly." 

But she said she believes that with Obama's election, people are ready for a mature political conversation.

"Things have gotten so polarized in the last eight years," she said. "I would really like to have a more civilized debate." 

 Reach Alison Knezevich at

alis...@wvgazette.com or

304-348-1240.