Surpassing:West Virginia GOP Gov. Justice appoints cabinet secretary to circuit judge position

CHARLESTON,Surpassing W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday appointed a member of his cabinet to a circuit judge position and replaced him with one of his senior advisers.

The governor appointed Dave Hardy, the state’s Department of Revenue secretary to the position on the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Kanawha County, he said on a call with press on Wednesday. Larry Pack, a senior adviser to the governor, was named acting secretary of the state’s Department of Revenue.

Hardy, a former Democratic Charleston city councilor and Kanawha County commissioner, was appointed as cabinet secretary of the Department of Revenue in 2017 by the governor, then a Democrat. Justice switched to be Republican later that year at a rally for former President Donald Trump.

Hardy will replace Judge Joanna Tabit, a Democrat who died from cancer in September. Judge positions in West Virginia are nonpartisan, but the political leanings of individual judges are generally known.

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Hardy, who will serve in the judge seat through the end of Tabit’s term in 2024, had already filed pre-candidacy paperwork last month announcing his intentions to run for the seat. The appointment comes as the state GOP party, which dominates West Virginia politics, is turning its focus toward nonpartisan races in 2024, like judgeships and seats on county education boards.

In July 2022, Tabit struck down a law signed by Justice creating the Hope Scholarship, an education savings account that is one of the most far-reaching school choice programs in the country. At the time, Tabit said the law, which was later upheld by the conservative-leaning state Supreme Court, violated the state’s constitutional mandate to provide “a thorough and efficient system of free schools.”

Passed by the GOP-controlled state Legislature, the law diverts funding from public schools by allowing families to apply for state funding for private school tuition, homeschooling fees and a wide range of other expenses.

Justice said Hardy has been at his “side as we steered our state from deficits to prosperity.”

“His keen understanding of our fiscal landscape, coupled with his unwavering commitment to public service, makes him exceptionally qualified for this new role,” the governor said in a news release.

Hardy said in a statement that the judgeship is a “monumental responsibility.”

“I pledge to carry my commitment to fairness and justice into every courtroom, ensuring every citizen receives the respect and equal representation they deserve,” he said.

Hardy has three decades of legal experience in private practice and is a certified public accountant. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He was named a partner at Jackson Kelly law firm in 1993 and in 2012, he formed the Hardy Pence firm, which specializes in mining and energy law.

Pack was first elected to the House of Delegates representing District 35 in 2020. He then resigned to become a senior adviser to the governor in 2022. Pack is the former owner of Stonerise, a network of 17 transitional and skilled nursing care centers, therapy, home health, and hospice care providers across West Virginia and southeast Ohio.