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By Lauren Rodgers
CHARLESTON, West Virginia: Earl Ray Tomblin is a man of many titles - Acting Governor, Governor-elect, and President of the West Virginia Senate just to name a few. All of that will change, though, on November 13, 2011, when he is officially sworn in as Governor of West Virginia.
Tomblin, by virtue of his role as President of the West Virginia State Senate, has been acting governor since January 2010. He won a special court-ordered election on October 4, 2011 to serve the 14 remaining months of former governor Joe Manchin's unexpired term. The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled the new governor must be sworn in by November 15, 2011, and earlier this week Tomblin called for a special session of the West Virginia Legislature, beginning at noon on Sunday, November 13, 2011. During the session, it is expected that the legislature will certify the results of the October 4th election, and that Tomblin will announce his resignation from the state Senate. He is scheduled to take the oath of office at 3 pm the same day.
After his resignation as President of the Senate, Tomblin has ten days to call the state Senate back into session to elect a new president. Democrat Jeffrey Kessler has been acting president since Tomblin's ascension to governor - a post he would like to keep. He is being challenged by fellow Democrats Brooks McCabe and Mike Green.[1]
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