Ken Hechler, an iconic figure in West Virginia politics, celebrated his 100th birthday yesterday in Romney, West Virginia before a crowd of well wishers.
From 1958 to 1977, Hechler was a member of Congress.
While in Congress, Hechler was a strong advocate for coal mine health and safety and for environmental protection. Hechler was the only member of Congress to march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama in 1965.
He was West Virginia Secretary of State from 1985 to 2001.
In 2009, at age 94, Hechler was arrested with actress Daryl Hannah and others protesting mountaintop removal mining.
And Sunday, Hechler met with Independent Brenda Hutchinson who is running against Republican Daryl Cowles for House of Delegates in District 58 — a district that includes parts of Morgan and Hampshire counties. There is no Democrat in the race.
Hutchinson is opposed to mountaintop removal mining, fracking and is for raising the minimum wage.
Cowles, the House minority whip, favors mountaintop removal mining and fracking — and is one of only five members of the 100 member House of Delegates who voted earlier this year against a $1.50 raise in the West Virginia minimum wage.
“I am very much in favor of raising the minimum wage,” Hechler said. “I’m very much against fracking and I’m very much against mountaintop removal.”
“I very much hope [Brenda Hutchinson] wins because those are very important issues” Hechler said. “It will be a victory for the people everywhere if she were to win.”
Speaking to Hutchinson, Hechler said — “it’s very important that the people know where you stand on these issues.”
Hutchinson reassured Hechler that she was taking a strong position on the issues.
“We’re trying to get signs out everywhere,” Hutchinson said. “We’ve got rack cards that say that I’m against mountaintop removal and against fracking and for the minimum wage.”
During his remarks to the crowd gathered at the South Branch Inn to celebrate his birthday, Hechler said that every public official should be guided by the principle of one word — “and that word is justice.”
“You don’t have to be a Supreme Court judge to be called a justice,” Hechler said. “You can practice justice.”
“The principle of justice should be the guiding north star of every public official,” Hechler said.
Hechler said that when he was a member of Congress, one day a week he would answer his own office phone.
And he would also regularly hold an open air gathering outside of a post office in his district.
“I would put up a big sign that says — Ken Hechler, Open Air Office Hours, Come and Speak to Me.”
In August 2013, at age 99, Hechler was married for the first time to his long time partner Carol.
Carol Hechler wrote a letter to Hechler for his 100th birthday.
“I told Ken I finally figured out why he was a great politician,” Carol wrote to her husband. “It’s because he didn’t play the game. Ken wasn’t running for office in order to become a powerful politician. He was running for office to do what he does best – be a true
public servant.”
“A friend told me the other day that Ken was the only person he ever knew who could walk down the street in Huntington and call everyone he met by name. I think it goes deeper than a knack for remembering. He remembered their names because they were the people who entrusted him to be their voice in Congress, and this was not something he took lightly. He worked very long days ensuring he was representing his constituents to the best of his ability. I’ve noticed in my ‘short’ life that during election time when those running for office are out trying to win votes, the voters get overwhelmed with attention. After the election, most of those we’ve elected hide behind staffers who field their calls only to have yet another staffer return the call with an apology as to why the elected official didn’t return it personally.”
“I can’t tell you the number of times over the years that I walked in the Secretary of State’s office to find Ken on the phone with a concerned citizen as I waited patiently to go to lunch,” Carol Hechler wrote. “It wasn’t one of his staff returning the call. It was Ken. These people elected him time and time again because he made time for them not just during the campaign but each and every day between those elections. He’s raised the bar very high for any elected official, but that is a bar that each of them should strive to meet.”
Hechler brought down the house a number of times on Sunday, most notably after the Mayor of Romney read a ten minute proclamation, reading through the highlights of Hechler’s illustrious career.
After the Mayor finished, Hechler took the microphone.
“Mr. Mayor,” Hechler said. “That reminds me of something Adlai Stevenson told me once. “He told me — flattery is all right as long as you don’t inhale.”