We met in my office in the capitol, shook hands and exchanged obligatory pleasantries. He sat down and said with a tone of exasperation frequent to most visitors to the capitol, “Man, I don’t know where I am in this building. I’m trying to count windows, but that isn’t working.”

Thus began my friendship with Marty Wright, the new legal counsel to the Senate Republicans.

Marty did not stay in the dark. He quickly adapted to the quirks of the Senate and had the ropes down like any veteran.

The task of minority counsel is daunting. But with only two terms in the senate under his belt, Marty has distinguished himself as one with a ready answer on most any subject of West Virginia law. If it happens that he doesn’t know, you won’t be waiting long for the answer.

Being a Republican in the legislature means you are in the minority in every way. Marty has the distinction of being the only Republican lawyer while the Democrats have many lawyers at their disposal. The only way to stay up with Democrats and not get suckered punched by their many tricks is to work as hard as all of them combined. Marty has proven himself up to the task, even if it meant working late into the night to catch up.

Marty’s crowning moment last year was when he sued the Governor and Democratic legislative leaders on behalf of Senator Sprouse for the Governor’s overreach of power. Still in his 30s, Marty faced off in the West Virginia Supreme Court against every lawyer the Senate and Governor’s office had, plus a hired gun: Rudy DiTrapano.

Now Marty has another hat to wear. The Ohio County Republican Executive Committee announced today that it selected him as its new chair. He replaces James Swann, Jr., who has been serving as Interim Chair since the unfortunate passing of Kathy Fortunato.

With November looming, Marty’s priority is the election of quality Republican candidates. “This is the first election in several years where there is clear contrast between the candidates,” Marty said in a statement released today. “Del. Gil White and Scott Reed favor reducing taxes, working for the concerns of the people in our area, and moving the State above the second to last business ranking it finds itself in.”

I look forward to seeing the Ohio County Republican Party prosper under his control. As a co-worker, Republican, and a friend, I know they could not have elected a finer person.