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Attorney general, auditor name leadership teams

(Capitol Notes - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)

CHARLESTON — The new attorney general and state auditor for West Virginia have announced the leadership in their administrations.

Auditor Mark Hunt and Attorney General John “J.B.” McCuskey were elected in November and received the oath of office on Monday, along with Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

Hunt was in the state Senate and succeeds McCuskey, who was auditor.

Hunt announced Michael Cook will be in the dual role chief of staff and chief financial officer. Caleb Hanna and David Cole have been appointed deputy chiefs of staff.

Cook was director of the State Budget Office, having been appointed in August 2018. Prior to that, Cook was a senior budget and policy analyst for the Senate. He is a native of Raleigh County and a graduate of Concord University.

“The Office of the Auditor has a great staff in place. I am confident that the different backgrounds our newly appointed staff members have will be a great addition to help us provide better resources for the people of West Virginia,” said Hunt.

Hanna, a Nicholas County native who lives in Kanawha County resident, is a graduate of West Virginia State University with a degree in economics. He has worked in health care and non-profit administration and handled public relations for WVU Medicine hospitals in southern West Virginia.

Hanna also served in the House of Delegates for five years.

Cole, of Fayette County, studied at Arizona State University and for 17 years was operations manager and director of marketing at Mark A. Hunt & Associates. He also worked for WCHS-WVAH TV and was a councilman in Ansted, W.Va.

“Looking to the future, we have an aggressive agenda to keep an eye on the budget,

transparency and accountability for every tax dollar that is spent,” Hunt said. “We will be working on ways to improve interactions with the public and making the office more accessible through-out the different parts of the state.”

McCuskey’s senior leadership includes Jace Goins and Lauren Plymale as chief deputy attorneys general. Caleb David was named deputy solicitor general, serving under Solicitor General Michael Williams, who was in Morrisey’s office while he served as attorney general.

Steven Travis will remain the general counsel.

Jeff Waybright will be chief of staff, Kallie Cart is deputy chief of staff and director of communications and Belinda Carpenter is executive assistant to the attorney general.

“My leadership team and I are looking forward to working with the existing employees, who hold a wealth of knowledge and work hard to protect the people of West Virginia,” McCuskey said. “Those employees, combined with this new crop of talent, ensures a smooth transition as well as a focus on building on the immense success of Gov. Morrisey’s administration.”

Goins has nearly 30 years of courtroom experience managing complex litigation at Steptoe & Johnson where he specialized in civil litigation.

Plymale most recently was general counsel for the state auditor and director of the Public Integrity and Fraud Unit where her team secured felony fraud convictions and tracked down millions in stolen taxpayer dollars.

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