Morrisey names transition team leaders

CHARLES TOWN -- Attorney General-elect Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday unveiled the steering committee for his transition team.

The members of the committee met Tuesday afternoon in the eastern Panhandle, according to a Morrisey press release. The release also said the members are volunteering their time to "examine the key issues and matters that will confront Attorney General-elect Morrisey" and to "offer perspectives on strategies and approaches for managing the West Virginia Attorney General’s office."

Morrisey campaign manager Scott Will said additional members of the steering committee may be added in the days and weeks ahead.

Charleston attorney Mark A. Carter, a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl, and Morgantown attorney Patrick R. Esposito II are the co-chairmen of the transition team.

The team includes a former candidate for Attorney General, a former candidate for state Supreme Court and a former Secretary of State. It also includes

The steering committee will have three working groups –- a process and planning working group, a personnel working group and a policy working group.

“We have assembled a strong steering committee of leaders to help ensure that we are ready to serve the citizens of West Virginia on inauguration day," Morrisey said in a statement. "The steering committee includes Republicans and Democrats, current and former elected officials, trial lawyers and defense attorneys, business leaders and labor union members, among others.

"This team truly represents West Virginia and brings a fresh perspective that will assist me in preparing to lead the West Virginia Attorney General’s office. In the days and weeks ahead, I also look forward to expanding this steering committee and the transition team to ensure that we receive counsel from the best and brightest in our state.

“I’m deeply grateful that so many of my fellow West Virginians have agreed to serve on my transition team steering committee. Their work is essential to help me to prepare to serve the interests of West Virginia citizens."

A complete list of the current members of the steering committee includes:

* Julia Chico Abbitt – Member, Jackson Kelly PLLC (Monongalia)

* The Honorable Tim Armstead – Minority Leader and Member, West Virginia House of Delegates and Attorney (Kanawha)

* Benjamin Bailey – Partner, Bailey & Glasser, LLP (Kanawha)

* The Honorable Donna Boley – Member, West Virginia State Senate (Pleasants)

* Mark Carter – Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP (Kanawha County) – co-chairperson

* Michael Caryl – Partner, Bowles Rice LLP (Berkeley)

* The Honorable Bill Cole – Principal, Bill Cole Automall and Member-Elect, WV House of Delegates (Mercer)

* Steve Connolly – City Attorney, City of Hurricane and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Putnam County (Putnam)

* Stephen Crislip – Member and General Counsel, Jackson Kelly PLLC (Kanawha)

* The Honorable Walter Duke – Member, West Virginia House of Delegates (Berkeley)

* Patrick Esposito – Director, Intergraph Corporation and former CEO, Augusta Systems, Inc. (Monongalia) – co-chairperson

* Eric Frankovitch – Partner, Frankovitch, Anetakis, Colantonio & Simon (Hancock)

* Tom Graff – Senior Partner, Bowles Rice LLP (Kanawha)

* Dan Greear – Partner, Kesner, Kesner & Bramble (Kanawha)

* Stephen Groh – Assistant Prosecutor, Jefferson County (Jefferson)

* Roger Horton – President, Citizens for Coal and Member, UMWA Local 5958 (Logan)

* Rob Hoxton – CEO, HFI Wealth Management (Jefferson)

* The Honorable Betty Ireland – Former West Virginia Secretary of State (Kanawha)

* The Honorable Evan Jenkins – Member, West Virginia State Senate and CEO, West Virginia Medical Foundation (Cabell)

* Charlotte Lane – Of Counsel, Shuman, McCuskey & Slicer PLLC and former Commissioner, U.S. International Trade Commission (Kanawha)

* Debra McLaughlin – Prosecuting Attorney, Morgan County (Morgan)

* Gaylene Miller – State Director, AARP (Kanawha)

* The Honorable John Shott – Member-Elect, West Virginia House of Delegates and Partner, Shott Gurganus & Williamson (Mercer)

* The Honorable Erikka Kerr Storch – Member, West Virginia House of Delegates and CFO, Ohio Valley Steel Company (Ohio)

* Robert Steptoe Jr. – Chairman, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC (Harrison)

* Beth Walker – Deputy General Counsel, West Virginia United Hospital System (Monongalia)

Morrisey defeated incumbent Darrell McGraw earlier this month in the general election. He is scheduled to take office Jan. 14, 2013, and will be the first Republican Attorney General in West Virginia since 1933. He also was the highest-ranking Republican in the country to defeat a Democratic incumbent for a state constitutional office in the 2012 elections.