Michael Graney

CHARLESTON — Michael Graney, the executive director of the West Virginia Development Office, is moving to the number two position at the state Department of Commerce as former senate president Mitch Carmichael is set to take Graney’s place.

Ed Gaunch, cabinet secretary for the Department of Commerce, announced Thursday that Graney will become deputy secretary of the department. He also officially announced that Carmichael will take Graney’s job as executive director of the West Virginia Development Office.

“Mike has been an invaluable asset to our entire team at Commerce and, after consulting with Governor Justice about his vision for the agency’s future, we all decided that Mike was the person we needed in this critical position moving forward,” Gaunch said in a statement.

Speaking by phone Thursday afternoon in his first interview since the announcement leaked, Carmichael said he was looking forward to working with Gov. Jim Justice, Gaunch, and Graney in helping bring new businesses and industries to West Virginia. Carmichael was a senator from Jackson County from 2013 to until his defeat in the 2020 Republican primary by teacher Amy Grady.

“I had a lot of other opportunities that presented themselves to me as I was leaving the Senate, but this just felt like a great fit for me. I think I can really do some good in this role. West Virginia is booming now, and the Governor asked me to utilize my abilities to continue to recruit and attract great jobs to our state.”

Mitch Carmichael

Carmichael served as president of the West Virginia Senate since 2017 after former president Bill Cole lost a 2016 election for governor. Carmichael previously served in the House of Delegates from 2001 to 2013. Carmichael’s appointment to the Development Office was first discovered Wednesday when a listing for Carmichael on the state employee online phone directory listed his new position and title.

The Development Office is one of nine agencies within the Department of Commerce. The office is charged with the state’s economic development planning, business recruitment, and marketing the state for potential development. Carmichael has spent his legislative career focused on improving the economy of the state and creating a trained workforce. Carmichael said he was looking forward to continuing to work with the Republican-led Legislature to continue these efforts.

“We brought forth this agenda that is totally tailored around creating jobs and opportunity for our state, and we’ve seen great results from those things,” Carmichael said. “I think now at the executive level, working with the Governor, I will use that previous skillset in the Legislature to help facilitate the Governor’s agenda and keep West Virginia moving forward.”

Part of that mission includes broadband expansion. Previously, Carmichael was the business development manager for Bridgeport-based internet service provider Citynet and an external affairs manager at Frontier Communications. With Carmichael’s lengthy career in telecommunications, he believes he is well suited to carry out this mission.

“The focus on broadband is extreme in our state,” Carmichael said. “Because I have expertise in that area and a familiarity with the issues surrounding it, I think I’ll bring a great amount of ability to quickly construct and deploy broadband internet services throughout unserved areas of our state.”

When asked about Carmichael on Wednesday during his coronavirus briefing, Justice said Carmichael’s positive and optimistic personality would be valuable traits at the Development Office.

“We feel like Mitch can be a terrific asset there, and he will become our economic development director,” Justice said. “We feel like with his stuck-on ‘on’ personality and everything that he can really bring some real umph to us there.”

Graney was appointed by Justice to the Development Office position in 2018. In his new role, Graney will help Gaunch run all nine agencies in the department’s portfolio: West Virginia Development Office; the Division of Forestry; the Division of Labor; the Division of Natural Resources; the Geological and Economic Survey; the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training; the Division of Rehabilitation Services; the Tourism Office, and WorkForce West Virginia.

“Mike and Secretary Gaunch are outstanding representatives of our state and the job announcements we’ve had in the past 24 months speak volumes about the culture they’ve created,” Justice said in a statement. “I’m confident they will continue to provide the bold leadership and vision we need to keep maximizing our efforts in the Department of Commerce.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com