Democratic state legislator finally gets meeting with Obama official on coal, hopes for one in Appalachia

A state legislator from Eastern Kentucky says she refused to vote as a Democratic convention delegate for President Obama last year because she could not speak to anyone from his administration about coal, but has now met with a key official and hopes to continue the dialogue -- this time in the Central Appalachian coalfield.

"Such a meeting, where the protest signs are left at the door, could and should provide greater clarity for both sides," Rep. Leslie Combs of Pikeville, left, wrote in an op-ed distributed to Kentucky news outlets. She began, "During the past five years, we have seen the verbal fighting over coal reach ever-greater heights, and the louder both sides have become, the less each seems to hear the other. Although I have been part of more than a few heated debates – that’s the nature of politics – I have found that, ultimately, diplomacy usually gets me closer to my goal than simply trying to run over the opposition."

Combs said that during the delegate selection process, "I made it clear from the beginning that I could not cast a supporting vote if I did not get to speak with someone from the president’s administration about coal. When that did not happen, I stepped aside – not as a party protest, but to uphold a promise I had made to my constituents." But this year, she got a meeting in Atlanta with Gwen Keys Fleming, who was the regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and "is now in a more high-profile role as the federal agency’s chief of staff. My hope is that we can continue this dialogue in the months ahead, either in Eastern Kentucky or West Virginia."

Combs concluded, "I believe the time has come to focus less on placing blame and focus more on how coal-mining regions can move forward. We need to be talking about the new reality of less mining because we’ve known since 1992 this day was coming." (Read more)