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ELECTIONS
Campaign trails: Teets says voters deserve explanation from Douglass on retirement benefits
LOST RIVER -- Republican agricultural commissioner candidate J. Michael Teets said West Virginia voters deserve an explanation from Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass about his retirement benefits from the state.
"For nearly 20 years he has collected half a million dollars in retirement from the state while also earning a high-paying salary for the same position," Teets said in a press release. "He has been double dipping for nearly two decades."
"I call on Gus Douglass to stand in front of the cameras and face reporters' questions about this shameful violation of public trust," Teets continued. "Under Douglass's watch, the Department of Agriculture has wasted taxpayers' dollars time and again. Now we learn that the biggest offender may be Douglass himself. It is past time for Gus Douglass to explain his actions."
The Charleston Daily Mail on Friday reported that Douglass has been collecting retirement benefits for years on top of a $75,000 annual salary. Douglass currently receives $2,195 per month in gross pension benefits, according to the state Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
"We have West Virginia public employees with underfunded state pensions, yet Gus Douglass enjoys the benefits of retirement as well as a handsome state salary," Teets said. "It's time for the voters to retire Gus Douglass once and for all."
