by Ron Gregory
ronjgregory@gmail.com
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant says she is “navigating this ever-changing law” after complaints that handouts at a recent Winfield Elementary Career Day event violated the state’s new “trinket law.”
A Corridor Chronicle reader submitted a photograph allegedly taken of material distributed by Tennant to fifth graders at WES. Included were an “adventure book,” and other material with either Tennant’s picture or name prominently displayed.
An attorney familiar with the new trinket law, which is administered by the state Ethics Commission, viewed the photo and immediately said, “well, there is a pencil there with Tennant’s name on it. The Ethics Commission has already said that is not appropriate under the new law.”
A reporter did not inquire about the matter with the Ethics Commission since their investigations are private and there has been no report of any complaint being filed against Tennant. Opinions issued by the Commission are open for public inspection, so if one is issued in this matter, it will eventually become public.
Another Charleston lawyer who handles ethics issues said, “in Ms. Tennant’s defense, this is an entirely new area of state government (the trinket law) and almost every day a new issue comes up. Public officials, like Ms. Tennant, are even asking for advisory opinions from Ethics because they don’t want to break the language or spirit of the law. I suspect she will ask for one on this issue as well.”
For herself, Tennant responded to a reporter’s inquiry by saying, “this could be an oversight and we are working to correct it. As we continue to navigate this ever-changing law, the emergency rule, the ethics opinion and now modified proposed legislative rules, we are continuing to review our materials and disposing of those necessary to ensure they comply with the law.”
A state Republican party official concluded, “we know about it (the handouts) and have counsel looking at it. At this point, we are not prepared to offer an opinion on the legality although we will say it doesn’t pass the smell test.”