90-Year-Old Running for W.Va. Executive Office

SPENCER, W.Va., Oct. 26, 2004 — -- Nobody doubts that Ken Hechler has been good for West Virginia. He's been a college professor, a congressman and has served at the highest levels of state government.

The question is whether Hechler, at age 90, is up for his latest endeavor: to become West Virginia's secretary of state. Again.

He held the job from 1985 to 2001. Before that, he was a congressman for 18 years, where he gained a reputation for fighting for the interests of blue collar mine workers.

The current race is tight, so the Democrat is spending about $1 million of his own money and crisscrossing the state in his trademark red Jeep Wrangler, adorned with Ken Hechler campaign signs and stickers. He sometimes drives the Jeep in parades, waving at crowds and occasionally jumping out to shake hands with admirers.

Born on New York's Long Island, Hechler worked as a speechwriter for President Truman before coming to West Virginia to teach at Marshall University. He was the only congressman to march with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at Selma, Ala. He's written several books, including one about a World War II mission called "The Bridge at Remagen" that was made into a Hollywood movie.

With so many accomplishments, why is he running again?

"I have a yen for public service," he said. "And I'm a teacher primarily. I got into politics in order to be a better teacher. I think there are many, many unmet challenges here in West Virginia. I have the solution to a lot of them."

Hechler was already in his 30s when his current opponent was born. Betty Ireland is a businesswoman who, if she wins, would be the first woman ever elected to the executive branch of West Virginia state government. Ireland, 58, says she's not making her opponent's age an issue in this campaign.

"This is not about age. It's got nothing to do with age," she said, but adds that people she meets are talking about it. "I think people as a whole feel that maybe it's time for someone else to come in. That it's time for maybe Ken to move on and be our senior statesman."

Hechler insists that "it isn't the years in your life, it's the life in your years that really counts. I know a lot of people who are 30 years of age who are over the hill, both intellectually and physically. And I feel real good. I swim everyday, eat balanced diet and sleep well. And I'm up to the job because I think I can do it. I feel good every day when I get up to get out there to fight."