CHARLESTON – Senator Randy Smith, R-Tucker, today said he was disappointed in Frontier Communications for its decision to lay off Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, months after the Legislature passed a bill that would greatly expand broadband access throughout West Virginia.
Senator Smith, who has been a strong proponent for statewide broadband network expansion since his time in the House of Delegates, said he was grateful to have the support of Senate leadership this year to pass a bill that would help ensure high-speed internet access in some of the state’s most rural areas. The bill, House Bill 3093, passed both the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support.
“I’ve always said I believe right is right and wrong is wrong, and I am proud that Senate President Carmichael did the right thing for West Virginia by voting to support the broadband bill, even if it was clearly against what his employer would have wanted,” Senator Smith said. “Our people hope when they elect us to go to Charleston to represent them that we do just that: Represent them. To see firsthand that standing up for what is right has possibly cost a man his job, to me, is just another sad chapter in this long fight to provide high-speed internet access to all residents of West Virginia – not just those who are lucky enough to live in cities or areas where the only game in town decides they should have it. Shame on Frontier for not feeling the same.”
