McCuskey and other new statewide officeholders also take oaths today

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — J.B. McCuskey hit a few milestones in the last election, starting with becoming the first elected West Virginia auditor not named Gainer since 1977.

McCuskey, a Republican who will be inaugurated today as the new auditor, succeeds Glen Gainer III, who was auditor from 1993 until he stepped aside last May. Since then, Lisa Hopkins was appointed to serve as auditor.

Glen Gainer III succeeded his own father, Glen Gainer Jr., who first became auditor in 1977. Denzil Gainer, a cousin of Glen Jr., had served as Auditor from 1961 to 1972, when he died in office.

McCuskey, who comes from another family active in West Virginia politics, has a few numbers he can point to with pride.

At 35, he’s one of the youngest statewide officeholders in state history. Cecil Underwood was 34 when he was inaugurated as West Virginia’s youngest governor in 1957.

In defeating Democratic opponent Mary Ann Claytor, McCuskey tallied 385,831 votes and won all 55 counties. That was more overall votes than any other statewide office-seeker. Jim Justice, the Democrat who won the governor’s race, got 350,408 votes.

“I campaigned really hard and met lots and lots of people,” McCuskey said last week while spending his final day of work at the Steptoe and Johnson law office in Charleston. “People were really positive about the optimistic nature of or campaign.”

McCuskey, who previously served in the state House of Delegates, and the other members of West Virginia’s Board of Public works will take their oaths today in an inauguration ceremony headlined by Justice.

Since 1932, most elected members of West Virginia’s Board of Public Works had been Democrats. During the past four years, the only Republican has been Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

That will flip today when Morrisey, McCuskey, new Secretary of State Mac Warner and new Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt take office. Aside from Justice, that leaves state Treasurer John Perdue as the only Democrat on the Board of Public Works.

The four Republicans, along with Treasurer candidate Ann Urling who was defeated by incumbent Perdue, worked in cooperation on the campaign trail during the 2016 election cycle.

McCuskey says he looks forward to working with his Republican counterparts but also looks forward to working with the new Democratic governor and his big ideas.

“That’s one of the things about him I am very, very excited about,” McCuskey said. “He has an unwavering optimism, which is exactly what I think we need.”

McCuskey said his own relative youth and optimistic outlook should serve him well. He observes that he’s one of a wave of 30-something (or 20-something) elected officials if you count those in the Legislature.

“There’s an element of not being jaded in the way that government can be fixed,” he said. “You have the youthful optimism and energy that the things we want our government to do are achievable.”

McCuskey comes from a political family. His father, John, is a former delegate who was Commissioner of Finance and Administration under Gov. Arch Moore and who later was appointed to the state Supreme Court by Underwood.

His mother, Anne, who died in 2014, was an executive director of the state Republican Party and district director for Shelley Moore Capito when she was in the House of Representatives, in addition to serving on a wide variety of boards.

McCuskey’s wife, Wendy, has served in the state Republican Party and was West Virginia campaign director for Mitt Romney in 2008-2009.

His grandmother, Christine Young McCuskey, was a longtime school guidance counselor who spent 20 years on the Harrison County school board. “She had a massively long-lasting impact,” McCuskey said.

During the inauguration ceremony today, McCuskey was considering using a Bible passed down by his great, great grandfather, Roy McCuskey, who was president of West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon from 1931 to 1941 and also leader of the Methodist Church in West Virginia.

The only obstacle keeping him from it was worry that the Bible might get lost in the crowd or damaged by weather.

He’ll be joined by his family on the Capitol steps as he swears the oath. And then on Tuesday it’s down to the business of being the state’s official bookkeeper.

“Tuesday we’ll really get moving,” he said.





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