A week later win his contract Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia’s next governor, shared his plans and priorities Tuesday as he prepares to ascend to the state’s highest office.
Morrisey will be supported by a seven-member transition team.Co-leader” who — along with yet-to-be-named members of the full transition team — will assist the governor-elect set policy priorities that he believes will allow him to get to work on his first day in office. Among these co-leaders is a former one Coal lobbyist And operatorHouse Majority Leader Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, and several Republican political activists, among others.
All members of the transition team are volunteers, Morrisey said. The transition work is organized by the West Virginia Prosperity Group, an independent nonprofit focused on “advocating conservative values.”
According to the Office of the Secretary of StateThe West Virginia Prosperity Group was incorporated on September 11 as a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization and was founded by Scott Will, who previously worked as Morrisey’s campaign manager for his election for attorney general. will worked too as a senior advisor at the Black Bear PACa political action committee that spent more than $11 million this election to support Morrisey’s run for governor Open secrets. Morrisey said Tuesday that Will — along with Marisa Findlay, president of the state’s Federation of Republican Women — was working as an adviser on the transition
The goals of a Morrisey administration at this point appear largely to reflect the priorities of his predecessor, Gov. Jim Justice, as he prepares to begin his first term West Virginia’s newest senator.
“I look forward to building on previous successes but also taking some additional steps to really help West Virginia move up in these economic rankings,” Morrisey said. “I’m not happy with being 48th, 49th and 50th. So I think over the next four years you’re going to see an aggressive push to move up these rankings.”
In the weeks and months before he takes office, Morrisey said he wanted to meet with leading lawmakers to discuss legislation that could be introduced in next year’s regular session and perhaps reach consensus before lawmakers even budge.
“We want to develop a common agenda where the governor, the House and the Senate all come together, and we could introduce a number of bills that we could agree to in advance,” Morrisey said. “I’m excited to do that and so I look forward to sitting down with them in detail to develop the agenda.”
Morrisey said he wants to see progress in the state’s economy and commerce through more investment from the private sector, a focus on Guidelines to assist the state realize its “energy potential” and pursue efforts conducive to “upholding West Virginia values,” including the defense of the Second Amendment and the “sanctity of life.”
“I’ve always been very concerned about the Biden-Harris administration’s agenda,” Morrisey said.
“You’ve heard the word ‘woke’ before, you’ve heard the word ‘DEI’ before, and those are not, in my opinion, West Virginia values, and we’re not going to be a government that’s going to be that.” “This one Promote values,” he continued, referring to the acronym that commonly means “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives.”
As attorney general, Morrisey’s office led and participated In numerous legal Proceedings restrict the rights and access to health care for transgender people.
Throughout his term, Morrisey has been vocal against abortion and critical of policies he associates with liberal ideology. He has been a proponent of education policies aimed at school choice — including the school voucher program that allocates public money to private institutions — and said during the gubernatorial debate last month that he wanted to expand them in the coming years.
On the environment, his office is actively fighting measures to tighten environmental regulations that reduce the effects of climate change and hold companies responsible for the harm their mining activities inflict on communities and public health.
But on Tuesday, the incoming governor said he wants his administration to work for all West Virginians, including those with whom he disagrees and those who have been on the opposing side of his legal work or targeted by him became. Everyone in the country is invited Provide feedback on the West Virginian Prosperity Group website, Morrisey said, and he wants to read everything that is submitted.
“I make no secret of it. I have a conservative leaning, but I like to be open to other ideas and listen to people to try to make the right decisions,” Morrisey said. “…we have specific values, and I don’t hide what they are. So I’m saying this, and if we disagree, I think we can respectfully disagree and do so in a polite way. That’s the approach I try to take, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do, and I think people can have a chance to see that.”
Morrisey’s inauguration will take place on January 13th. He said more announcements will be made in the coming weeks about his administration’s staffing levels, policy priorities and more.
