When Jeff Davis adjourns the Hancock County Commission meeting on Dec. 23, he gavels down on a 28-year-career in public service. And while the responsibilities, the votes, the phone calls and e-mails will cease, the memories from those 28 years, the experiences, the people, the satisfaction of helping someone or casting a vote that made a difference in Hancock County will remain.
An Oak Glen High School graduate, Davis entered the business world straight out of high school. He worked in metallurgy at Westinghouse Electric and later ran the Mountie at the top of Chester and became the owner of Roma’s Pizza and rental property.
At age 32, Jeff heard a rumor that the late Del. Sam Love was retiring from the Legislature to run for County office (Commissioner or Assessor) leaving an open seat. The other member of the two-seat District was Del. Tamara Pettit. The top two vote-getters would represent the 1st District. Jeff decided to throw his hat in the ring and approach the election like everything else he undertook……by consistent hard work on the campaign trail
In the hotly contested primary, Jeff lead the ticket with 3,811 votes. Pettit, the other winner had 3,724 while the defeated candidates on the Democratic side were Kelli Levendorf, 2.457; Joe Cipriani, 2,754; David Barrett, 1,1442; and John Ashcraft, 1,166.
On election night, Davis told the press, “We tried to touch every registered voter. We spent a lot of hours.” He said he had spent two solid months with his wife, Cindy, campaigning door-to-door.
“There was a lot of walking, meeting a lot of friends, a lot of family support and just the community was very receptive.” said Jeff.
Davis would spend two terms (4 years) in the WV Legislature.
“It was definitely a learning experience for me,” he recalls. He was one of 100 Delegates, all of whom had different backgrounds and agendas. While Davis would be focused on the two major businesses in his District, steel and gaming, other delegates would be pushing coal and mining bills. Despite those differences, he made a lot of friends, relationships he would cherish. Those contacts extended to State governmental officials many of whom came to be of help when he was County Commissioner.
With his wife, Cindy, and two young children, Jeffrey and Joey, at home, Jeff said the trip to Charleston and living there doing the session kept him away from home too much. “I was missing out on too much with my family.”
Realizing that you could achieve much more being one of three County Commissioners, Jeff filed for County Commission and won the first of four six-year terms.
“My number one goal was to provide water & sewage to the area,” he said believing that was the key to economic growth. The Racetrack Video Lottery bill had been passed in 1994 and the two% of the revenue from the lottery funds allowed the Commissioners to go to work on needed infrastructure. Racetrack video lottery will celebrate its 30th anniversary in a few months having put $77 million into the County coffers from that two %.
Davis said the funds came directly from racetrack video lottery or were used to get matching grants. He said then Congressman Alan Mollohan was key in assisting the County to get Federal Grants. The funds were also used to fund the Hancock County Senior Center, Parks & Recreation, establish a recycling center and build the new Magistrate’s Office.
“Without the video lottery money, Hancock County would have remained stagnant,” said Davis.
There were controversial times and difficult votes during Davis’s tenure. The no-smoking rule caused the gaming facility, to request areas exempted from the rule claiming a total ban would hurt their business.
“I had a loyalty to Mountaineer,” said Davis who was aware of the jobs created by Mountaineer and the difference the flow of video lottery revenue was making to Hancock County. “I also felt everyone should have a choice (when it came to smoking).”
Turning the Hancock County Animal Shelter back to the County also was hotly debated with many hard feelings from those who were running the Shelter. Davis said there were improvements that needed to be made to the facility and he felt the controversy led to more open dialogue.
As he concludes his 28 years, a challenge faces the Commission with the Racetrack Video Lottery now reduced to 1 % and budget cuts possibly looming on the horizon.
Jeff is pretty optimistic about the County’s future with Form Energy continuing to grow as are NUCOR and Ergon. He has hopes that Cleveland Cliffs will invest more in the area in the future.
Meanwhile, Jeff is looking forward to relaxing and tending to the businesses he has established in the County.
