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Mike Romano
Mike Romano (Democratic Party) was a member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 12. He assumed office on January 14, 2015. He left office on December 1, 2022.
Romano (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the West Virginia State Senate to represent District 12. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Biography
Romano is a certified public accountant and lawyer. He served as a Harrison County Commissioner. He earned his B.S. in business administration and a law degree from West Virginia University.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Romano was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Economic Development Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Energy, Industry and Mining Committee
- Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Military Committee
2019-2020
Romano was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Economic Development Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Pensions Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Economic Development |
| • Education |
| • Judiciary |
| • Pensions |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Romano served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Economic Development |
| • Education |
| • Judiciary |
| • Military |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
On December 8, 2021, Romano announced that he would not seek re-election in the West Virginia State Senate.[2]
2018
General election
General election for West Virginia State Senate District 12
Incumbent Mike Romano defeated Waymond Cork in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 12 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Romano (D) | 54.5 | 18,919 |
| Waymond Cork (R) | 45.5 | 15,791 | ||
| Total votes: 34,710 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 12
Incumbent Mike Romano advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Romano |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 12
Waymond Cork advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 12 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Waymond Cork | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
Elections for the West Virginia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014. Incumbent Samuel Cann, Sr. was defeated by Mike Romano in the Democratic primary, while Mike L. Queen was unopposed in the Republican primary. Romano defeated Queen and Patrick Smith (L) in the general election.[3][4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Mike Romano |
50% | 14,036 | |
| Republican | Mike L. Queen | 42.2% | 11,850 | |
| Libertarian | Patrick Smith | 7.8% | 2,192 | |
| Total Votes | 28,078 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Mike Romano |
55.7% | 7,308 |
| Sam J. Cann | 44.3% | 5,823 |
| Total Votes | 13,131 | |
Endorsements
In 2014, Romano's endorsements included the follow:[6]
- WV AFL-CIO
- North Central Labor Council
- Fraternal Order of Police
- Fire Fighters Union
- International Union of Police Association
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Mike Romano participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 10, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Mike Romano's responses follow below.[7]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Economy-Putting people who work for a living first. 2) Public Education-strengthen school system. |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | 1. Putting working people first in our government policies and strategies. 2. Strengthening public education. 3. Protecting our citizens property rights. 4. Retaining permanent value from our natural resources while promoting utilization and jobs. 5. Finding new ways to combat the drug epidemic. 6. Making sure our seniors can survive comfortably. 7. Providing transparency the election process. 8. Making medical cannabis available to people whom it benefits. 9. Incentivize development that creates good paying jobs. 10. Reducing our nonviolent jail and prison populations. 11. Making government more efficient without eliminating services. 12. Many others.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[9]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Mike Romano answered the following:
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
| “ | Abraham Lincoln, because of his courage to stand for what is right in the face of public and political backlash. There are many others. Also, my mother. After our father's death, she raised four sons on a teacher's salary, but none of us ever knew that we were not rich, and all of us went on to earn college and advanced degrees.[9] | ” |
| “ | The movie Pleasantville-all people are created equal.[9] | ” |
| “ | Integrity, sacrifice, and humbleness.[9] | ” |
| “ | Simply, passion. I am in public office to do what is right every time. Some people will always disagree with my decision, but it will never be because my decision was self-serving. When I can no longer do that with passion, my public career is finished.[9] | ” |
| “ | Making the best interests of working families the top priority and standing up for citizens who have no voice.[9] | ” |
| “ | That I did everything possible to make the lives of all West Virginians better.[9] | ” |
| “ | The Vietnam War, when I was around 8 years old.[9] | ” |
| “ | Working in a grocery store from age 8 to age 22.[9] | ” |
| “ | In 1979, the dashboard of my 1966 Volkswagen caught on fire on my first date with a girl that I had to ask a dozen times before she would go out with me.[9] | ” |
| “ | Balancing the demands of my family, work and, now, public service. Simply, I find it difficult to say "no" to any challenge.[9] | ” |
| “ | Yes, prior government experience is very beneficial. People who enter the Legislature without some prior experience must learn the difference between persuasion and dictating. Governing means listening to all opinions so that you, as part of a collective body, can conclude the best ways to handle (or not to handle) a variety complex issues. That means listening to the people that you may disagree with the most.[9] | ” |
| “ | Retaining and putting to work the wealth of our natural resources. Combatting the drug epidemic that has exploded as a result of prescription opioids. Returning working for a living to a place of prestige in our society.[9] | ” |
| “ | It is all about relationships. Unfortunately, the facts alone do not lead to the right decision. You must have a close relationship with as many legislators as possible, so that they will trust you even when they do not understand your goal.[9] | ” |
| “ | One that balances all registered voters of all parties as equally as possible. Gerrymandering has been one of the great detriments to our democracy.[9] | ” |
| “ | Judiciary, because it touches on almost every aspect of life in our State. Education, because a strong public education system is the backbone of a strong America. Pensions, because a society should be judged on how it cares for its seniors.[9] | ” |
| “ | Right now, I am just trying to be the best State Senator that I can.[9] | ” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of West Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from February 10 to April 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2020, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 7.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 9.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 10.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from February 8 through April 9. The legislature held a special session from May 4 to June 26. The legislature held its second special session from August 1 to September 15.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 12.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2015, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 14 through March 14.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Romano and his wife, Amy, have two children. Romano has served as a member of several organizations, including the West Virginia Association for Justice and the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.[10]
See also
- West Virginia State Senate elections, 2014
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia State Senate District 12
- West Virginia Senate Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ WBOY, "Mike Romano Files for 12th District for WV State Senate," January 16, 2014
- ↑ WV News, "Making it official: State Sen. Mike Romano won't run for re-election, but will instead seek Harrison County Commission seat," accessed December 16, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed February 7, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ [http://apps.sos.wv.gov/elections/results/results.aspx?year=2014&eid=21&county=Statewide&type=Official West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official 2014 General Election Results," accessed December 7, 2014]
- ↑ Friends of Mike Romano, "Endorsements," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Mike Romano's responses," April 10, 2018
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Friends of Mike Romano, "Experience," accessed March 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
West Virginia State Senate District 12 2015-2022 |
Succeeded by Ben Queen (R) |
