RICK GARCIA

FOR HOUSE

WV HOUSE OF DELEGATES DISTRICT 76

Meet Rick Garcia

He's our neighbor.

Rick Garcia grew up in Bellview, just a few minutes from where he lives today. He raised his family here, became a proud grandpa here, and still drives a Marion County school bus.

These days, Rick has another job, too. His neighbors sent him to the West Virginia House of Delegates to represent them—and he's running for reelection to keep doing it.

Rick has never been much for titles or making things about himself. Whether he's behind the wheel of a school bus or on the floor of the House, he knows exactly who he works for.

The people back home.

The job is here.
The office just happens to be in Charleston.

Growing up in the Garcia family was a lot like growing up in many Marion County families. You learned early that helping your neighbors and giving something back to your community were simply part of how you lived.

From working as a union member in the mines and on construction crews to teaching people to ski and driving a school bus, Rick has carried those lessons with him wherever life has taken him.

He's served his community on the boards of the Disability Action Center and Marion County Parks and Recreation, on Fairmont City Council and the Marion County Commission, and now in the House of Delegates.

Along the way, he raised a family and became a proud grandpa. For more than thirty years, he's been part of local youth athletics, refereeing basketball and umpiring softball.

The jobs and titles have changed over the years, but the reason behind them hasn't. Rick believes in showing up for the community that raised him—and being the guy you can call when you need a hand.

What Matters
Keeping it Simple.

Rick doesn't believe everything has to be complicated. After a lifetime of working and serving in Marion County, he knows what matters to the people back home.

Take care of our schools and the people who work in them.

Respect people who work for a living and make sure a hard day's work still means something.

Let our communities make their own decisions—and make sure they get their fair share.

Build the roads, parks, and public spaces that make a community a good place to call home.

Give our kids a reason to build their future right here in West Virginia.

And when somebody from back home needs help, answer the phone.

That's what Rick takes with him when the job takes him to Charleston: listen to the people you represent, remember who you work for, and get to work.

Our Schools

Rick sees our public schools from a perspective not many legislators do.

He drives the bus.

When the Legislature isn't in session, Rick is back home driving a school bus for Marion County—the kids who climb those steps every morning, the teachers and service personnel he knows by name, and what it actually looks like when schools are asked to do more with less.

Rick believes West Virginia's school funding formula needs fixed. It doesn't always reflect what it costs to educate a child, or the challenges facing individual counties. Rick has backed efforts to change the formula and study how West Virginia can build a system that better meets the needs of today's schools.

He's especially concerned about the students who can least afford to be overlooked—kids with special needs, students who need extra support, and schools that are already stretched thin.

Working Families

Rick has spent his life around people who work for a living because he's one of them.

He knows what a paycheck means to a family. He knows what happens when the cost of groceries goes up, the car needs fixed, or another bill lands on the kitchen table.

That's why Rick looks at legislation by asking a pretty basic question: What does this mean for the people back home?

He has supported efforts to raise wages, protect workers' right to organize, and create paid summer jobs and apprenticeships for young West Virginians—because a good job should be something people can actually get to and build a life on.

Home

Growing up here, Rick learned something he's carried with him his whole life: People who live in a community ought to have a say in what happens there.

That's why Rick believes strongly in home rule and local control.

Fairmont doesn't need Charleston making every decision for it. Neither do the other cities, towns and communities across West Virginia.

Local leaders know their roads. They know their neighborhoods. They know their businesses, their budgets and the problems their residents are dealing with every day.

Rick believes state government should be a partner—giving communities the flexibility and resources to solve their own problems. The state should step in only when it's truly needed.

Nobody knows home better than the people who live there.

Rick is Proud
to be Endorsed by:

“ Like my father before me, I consider it an honor to be a public servant and will continue to serve and build upon the accomplishments and progress I have been a part of that the people of Marion County deserve and need.”