Senate President Craig Blair (R, Berkeley) says he is waiting for the results of a blood test on Senator Mike Maroney (R, Marshall) before the Senate decides Maroney’s political fate.
Maroney has been arrested twice in recent months—once in August on a charge of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct at a video lottery parlor in Glen Dale and a second time last month in McMechen on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and other traffic violations. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Blair said he expects to know the results of the blood test by Friday. “If it’s not positive, we’re not doing a thing,” Blair said. “I don’t believe the Senate is interested in destroying a man’s life.”
However, Blair said if the results show drugs in Maroney’s system, “I would ask him to do everybody a favor and resign.” If Maroney does not resign, a two-thirds vote by the Senate would remove him from office.
Blair emphasized that if the Senate had received positive blood test results during the just completed special session, there would have been a vote to remove Maroney from office.
Blair added that he wants individuals responsible for charging Maroney held accountable if the blood test is negative. “I will turn loose the Commission on Special Investigations on the prosecutor and the police,” he said.
Meanwhile, Blair said after obtaining and watching the video from the gambling parlor that there is “not a chance” Maroney could be convicted of indecent exposure. “I watched it,” Blair said, adding that pursuing the charge is “a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Meanwhile, Maroney has been keeping a low profile. Blair has not seen him or talked to him since the arrests, and several other Senators who are concerned about Maroney’s well being have not been able to reach him.
Maroney was not present at the special session this week. However, he remains on the payroll. According to the Senate Clerk’s Office, Maroney continues to receive his $625 monthly payments, the same as every other Senator.
Those payments are ending. Maroney lost his bid for re-election in the May Primary to Chris Rose and his four-year term concludes at the end of November.
However, some Republican leaders in Maroney’s district want him out now. Monongalia County Republican Party Executive Committee Chairman Ethan Moore said, “We believe it is in the best interest of Senate District 2 and the state for Senator Maroney to resign, restoring public trust and the integrity of the Senate.”
The Wetzel County Republican Executive Committee followed suit. Philip Wiley, a spokesman for the committee said, “We think it would be better for him and for his constituents if he would step down and take care of some of the other problems he has.”