Governor-elect Morrisey talks immediate plans

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (WSAZ) – In his victory speech in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Republican Attorney General and governor-elect Patrick Morrisey said Tuesday night was a time to celebrate, and Wednesday was time to get back to work.

“I’m getting ready for a pretty busy stretch,” he told WSAZ.

Morrisey defeated Democratic Huntington Mayor Steve Williams in the gubernatorial race.

When asked how he’ll be spending the next couple of months leading up to the inauguration as he closes out his last term as AG, Morrisey said, “I want to make sure there’s a good transition for the auditor who will be coming in. Congratulations to JB McCuskey. We’re going to help him out and finish out our AG work. Then we’ll have a transition. The beautiful part about that is everyone will have a chance to participate. We’re going to come up with a website where people can submit ideas and resumes and weigh in.”

He says on Day One of his administration, a priority will be starting an economic competition with states West Virginia touches.

“We’ll be rolling out a pretty aggressive series of announcements on regulations and policies that affect state government,” he said. “We’re analyzing which pieces can be done directly by the governor and which will require legislative approval.”

Morrisey, who’s 56, moved to the Eastern Panhandle from New Jersey in 2006.

He says his victory is a signal that people in counties who’ve felt left out of the decision-making process will have a voice.

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