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WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Johnson gets new state government job, will draw $182K in salary and retirement

State Supreme Court
Garyjohnson

CHARLESTON – The former administrative director of the state Supreme Court has a new job with a new state agency, and he will be making nearly $182,000 in salary and retirement.

Gary Johnson is assistant commissioner, inspector general with the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The new division came into existence July 1 following the passage of House Bill 4338 during the last legislative session.

The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation includes bureaus of Prisons and Jails, Community Corrections and Juvenile Services. It replaces the Division of Corrections, Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority and Division of Juvenile Services.

Johnson, who served as the court’s administrative director from January 2017 until last month, will be making $87,190 in the new position. His salary as court administrator was $135,000.

And both of those salaries are on top of the retirement he receives from the Judges Retirement System. Before he became court administrator, Johnson was a circuit court judge in Nicholas County for 24 years until he lost in the 2016 election. He receives $7,875 per month gross in retirement. That equals $94,500 per year. Add that to his new salary, and Johnson draws $181,690 annually.

Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jeff Sandy was having a ribbon-cutting ceremony to herald the creation of the new division on July 2. Betty Jividen was appointed commissioner of Corrects and Rehabilitation by Gov. Jim Justice. She was a career federal prosecutor in the U.S. Northern District of West Virginia before Justice selected her to oversee Corrections in January. During her four decades of federal service, Jividen represented the Federal Bureau of Prisons and also focused on rehabilitation and reentry programs aimed at reducing recidivism and ensuring public safety.

In his new position, Johnson’s duties will include internal investigations and audits as well as ensuring compliance with all state and federal standards. Sandy said he also has enlisted Johnson to help carry out inmate drug rehabilitation initiatives that could yield substantial savings from reduced incarcerations.

Johnson was named court administrator early in 2017, shortly after then Chief Justice Allen Loughry fired former administrator Steve Canterbury. Last month, Loughry was named in a 22-count federal indictment for mail fraud, wire fraud, lying to federal investigators and witness tampering. Earlier in June, Loughry also was charged with 32 counts of violating the code of judicial ethics by the state Judicial Investigation Commission. He has been suspended by the Supreme Court without pay.

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