Most people consider the term “honest politician” to be an oxymoron, but we believe an honest politician still exists and his name is Jesse Johnson.

We first met the Mountain Party (a West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party) candidate for Governor of West Virginia on the campus of Radford University back in May. We found his forthright commentary quite refreshing and were happy to learn of his progressive views.

As Johnson recently told Charleston’s The State Journal, “I’m the only pro-environmental, anti-mountaintop removal candidate, and more than half of the state has been polled to be against mountaintop removal mining. I’m the only pro-choice candidate … I’m the only anti-death penalty candidate, the only real pro-labor candidate.”

Johnson recently received the endorsement from the Sierra Club for his environmental stance.

“As the only gubernatorial candidate working for a statewide ban on mountaintop removal, we believe [Johnson's] candidacy will give West Virginians a chance to vote for a governor who is dedicated to helping West Virginia’s workers by promoting renewable energy and keeping our state clean,” said Political Chair Regina Hendrix.

Being outside of the two-party political establishment, Johnson has had an uphill battle in his gubernatorial run. He hasn’t had the media attention or the money of his Democratic or Republican opponents and he has been excluded from some polls and debates. Johnson has found it difficult to get his message out to West Virginia voters, and we think that’s a shame.

We appreciate Johnson’s fresh ideas and actions that indicate that West Virginia would not see the same politics as usual. Johnson told the New River Voice that his first actions as Governor of Virginia would be to clean up the corruption and cronyism in Charleston. He has interesting ideas regarding using coal in more carbon products and less for energy and his desire to push forward on the Coal River Wind Project illustrate that Johnson is not afraid to stand up to energy interests in the state.

Former Alaska Senator and presidential candidate Mike Gravel endorsed Johnson’s gubernatorial campaign calling Johnson “a real maverick.” Gravel said, “Jesse has the courage and integrity to put the interest of the people above political party and special interests. That’s the kind of a person West Virginia should have for governor.” We wholeheartedly agree, and would add that is the kind of person every state should have for governor.