Governor-Elect Patrick Morrisey provided an update Tuesday on his transition plans Tuesday morning at the State Capitol Building. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — One week after securing the election for West Virginia’s next governor, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is hitting the ground running on forming a transition team, soliciting resumes and ideas and working with lawmakers and other state officials to craft a legislative agenda for next year.

Morrisey held a press conference Tuesday morning in the law library of the Attorney General’s Office to lay out his transition agenda over the next nearly 60 days until he takes the oath of office as West Virginia’s 37th governor.

“I want to start out by thanking the people of West Virginia for providing me with a resounding victory and a mandate to govern,” Morrisey said. “There’s so much good happening in our state, and I’m looking forward to building on past success.”

Morrisey last week defeated the Democratic opponent, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, by more than 30 points, earning 62.11% of the vote over Williams’ 31.49% of the vote according to unofficial results from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office.

Now Morrisey is turning his attention to preparing to put in place a new administration in the Governor’s Office and across state departments and agencies. Last week, Morrisey launched the West Virginia Prosperity Group, a 501(c)(4) that will handle all transition matters.

The group has a website, wvprosperitygroup.com, where it is soliciting resumes from those interested in working in the Morrisey administration. The website is also a portal for citizens to submit ideas and recommendations for the incoming Morrisey administration to consider as it begins reviewing government operations.

“I want your help. I need your help,” Morrisey said. “We need to make West Virginia the most dynamic place in the world. It’s an incredible place, but we have some work to do and some challenges. So, the best way to do that is to solicit ideas from all West Virginians. If you voted for me, great. Thank you. If you didn’t vote for me, let me tell you we’re all on Team West Virginia now. The election is over. It’s time to govern, and I want everyone’s input across the board.”

Morrisey announced the co-leaders of his transition team: outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Householder, R-Berkeley; Chief Deputy Attorney General and former Department of Revenue official Douglas Buffington II; Karen Evans, a former first assistant secretary for cybersecurity, energy security, and emergency response with the U.S. Department of Energy; Julie Kominsky, the chairwoman of the Raleigh County Republican Executive Committee; former West Virginia Coal Association chairman James Laurita Jr.; lobbyist and former West Virginia Republican Party chairman Conrad Lucas; and Citynet President and CEO James Martin II.

The transition co-leaders are volunteers. Also assisting with the transition as consultants are Marissa Findlay and Scott Will, Morrisey’s campaign manager for his first attorney general race in 2012. Will also served as executive director of the Republican Attorney Generals Association and as an advisor to Black Bear PAC, the conservative super-PAC that supported Morrisey.

Morrisey and his transition team are in conversations with Gov. Jim Justice, who will be West Virginia’s new U.S. Senator after last Tuesday’s elections. Morrisey said Justice and his administration are being helpful as they prepare to hand off the baton to Morrisey.

“I can report to you that I’ve had discussions with Gov. Justice, who has pledged his complete cooperation to work in the transition process,” Morrisey said. “We really want Gov. Justice to be a very successful U.S. Senator, and I pledge anything I can do to make that happen. And I’m certainly grateful for the smooth transition that I envision on this end, and that’s because of him.”

The next steps include setting up landing teams and subject-matter teams to review all aspects of state government and looking at specific topics: commerce and economic development; education; revenue and taxes; healthcare; criminal justice, and the West Virginia National Guard and veterans; transportation and infrastructure; and more. Morrisey also expects the landing teams to look at ways to repurpose and resize state government.

“I want to make sure that West Virginia is the best state in the country to live, to work and play, and I want the metrics to back that up,” Morrisey said. “I’m not satisfied with being 48th, 49th and 50th. So, I think what you’re going to see over the course of the next four years is an aggressive effort to rise in those rankings.”

The goal is to work with the Legislature and the incoming members of the Board of Public Works to create a legislative agenda that is ready to go when the Legislature begins the 2025 legislative session next February.

“Over the course of the next few months, you’re going to begin to see a series of initiatives that we’ll be releasing that we plan to advance and work with the Legislature on to help our state reach her potential in the upcoming weeks,” Morrisey said. “We want to make sure that we’re getting in front of those issues and I’m dedicated to digging in and learning as much as I can about that and how West Virginia can reach her potential.”

Morrisey said more announcements will be made over the coming weeks about transition, including cabinet-level positions. Planning is also underway for Morrisey’s inauguration, which will be handled by a separate 501(c)(4). Morrisey wants an inauguration event that all West Virginia can take part in on Jan. 13.

“We want to invite West Virginians to come celebrate,” Morrisey said. “There’s a lot for West Virginia to celebrate. We are one of the most amazing states in the nation. I always say we’re within 10 hours of 180 million people. We are the most giving people that you’ll ever find. And I want everyone to celebrate in the inauguration.”