Meeting Justice: A chance encounter with my new governor
In Wheeling on Friday I had a little chat with Jim Justice, the good-old-boy governor of West Virginia, my new state.
I had a brief but enjoyable random encounter with Jim Justice, the super-affable governor of West Virginia, in Wheeling on Friday afternoon outside the Wesbanko Arena, home of the Wheeling Nailers.
The ex-billionaire, ex-businessman was performing a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of about 40 people outside of the arena with the Ohio River and the I-70 bridge over his shoulder.
The photo op was to celebrate the end of a gigantic $221 million highway project that replaced a bunch of interstate bridges and ramps where I-70 crosses the Ohio at Wheeling.
He was a nice, friendly guy -- a good old West Virginia boy who was once said to be the state’s richest man and will never remind anyone of a California slickster like Gavin Newsom.
When I approached Justice he was sitting alone on a bench inside the empty minor league arena, resting, after being stuck in an elevator.
I asked him if he was still the governor of WV and he laughed and said yes.
I told him I had just moved into the state and was now a happy resident of the tiny college town of Bethany. Saying he had been there more than once, he said he was glad I was happy because that was the way it was supposed to be.
Later I videotaped him as he told the small crowd his funny story about being trapped in the elevator.
Here it is: