MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Former House of Delegates Speaker and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Clyde See died at his home in Moorefield late Thursday night.
See was 75.
See was Speaker of the House of Delegates from 1979 to 1985. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1984 and again in 1988.
Former state lawmaker and See colleague, Marc Harman, said See suffered from Stage 4 Cancer.
“He was diagnosed some weeks ago and it was advanced. It probably was a blessing that it went quick,” Harman said during an appearance Friday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
See was a high school dropout who joined the military but later earned his high school diploma and graduated from the WVU College of Law.
“He had tremendous compassion for young people who were in trouble,” Harman said. “He was very interested in seeing jobs developed. He was very proactive in that sense.”
See lost to Republican Arch Moore in the 1984 run for governor followed a primary loss to political upstart Gaston Caperton in 1988. See became somewhat disheartened after the 1988 race, Harman said.
“He had campaigned hard. He ran a good campaign both times. Sometimes being speaker is not a very good stepping stone because you have to make some tough decisions and you are on record on a lot of things,” Harman said.