CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Jeff Pack, a Cool Ridge resident and Air Force veteran, was named to a House of Delegates seat and sworn in on the first day of the legislative session.
He was recognized with standing applause prior to the State of the State address.
Pack takes the seat that was vacated by Delegate John O’Neal, who left the Legislature to join Gov. Jim Justice’s staff as a liaison to legislators.
Pack has been working as a pest control technician. He served in the Air Force from 200 to 2005
He was one of three nominees by the Republican executive committee in Raleigh County and then was selected by Gov. Jim Justice.
O’Neal, a Republican from Beckley, left his House seat right after Christmas.
As with all members of the House, O’Neal’s seat is up for election in the coming year.
He had been the majority whip in the House and then became the assistant majority leader this past session.
O’Neal was first elected to the House in 2010.
Since Justice switched from Democrat to Republican this past summer, he has drawn from the legislative ranks to fill a few positions.
Chief of Staff Mike Hall, a Republican, had been the Senate Finance chairman. Senator Ron Miller, a Democrat and a Greenbrier County resident like Justice, took a role as agriculture liaison for the governor.
The seat that opens up with O’Neal’s move will be another opportunity for Justice to name a new face to the Legislature.
In late October, Justice appointed Jeff Campbell of Lewisburg to a seat vacated by Delegate Stephen Baldwin.
Baldwin was named to the Senate to fill the seat vacated by Miller.
A week prior to that, Justice named Buck Jennings of Preston County to a House of Delegates seat that was vacated after the death of Delegate Tony Lewis.
Earlier that month, Justice announced the selection of Dianna Graves to represent District 38, which includes parts of Kanawha and Putnam counties, after the resignation of Delegate Nancy Foster.
In September, Justice selected Mark Drennan to fill the Senate seat that was vacated by Hall.