West Virginia House Clerk Harrison to retire by next year’s legislative session
House Clerk Steve Harrison, right, reviews legislation with House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, during the October special session. (Photo courtesy of WV Legislative Photography)
CHARLESTON — Steve Harrison, a former member of the West Virginia Legislature who became 23rd Clerk of the House of Delegates when the Republicans took the majority in 2015, will retire after nearly a decade of service at the beginning of the next legislative session. In a Tuesday letter to members of the House, Harrison said he had reached eligibility for retirement and plans to stay on as House Clerk until a replacement is trained for the 2025 legislative session beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8. “I appreciate the opportunity my constituents gave me to serve in both houses of the Legislature and the opportunity the members of the House gave by electing me Clerk five times,” Harrison wrote. “While there are things I will miss about this season of public service and I am not yet sure what other endeavors I may pursue in the future, I look forward to more time with Kristen, our twins in their teenage years, and my dad as he approaches his nineties,” Harrison continued. “I pray for God’s blessings on you, our legislative staff, and our State.” A Charleston native and a graduate of Brown University, Harrison was a placekicker and former 1989 District 1 Academic All-American in college football and played in the 1989 Epson Ivy Bowl on the Ivy All-Stars team. He went on to coach track and field at West Virginia Wesleyan College. A former vice president of Poca Valley Bank, Harrison was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1992 for five two-year terms through the end of 2000. Harrison was later elected to the state Senate in 2002 for one four-year term, but he declined to seek another term. During the 2014 elections, Republicans took the majority in the House for the first time in more than 80 years. When the GOP began the 2015 legislative session, it elected former Kanawha County delegate and current state Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead as Speaker of the House, and elected Harrison to serve as House Clerk. He has been re-elected Clerk five times. “Our legislature has been a big part of my life through 10 Regular Sessions as a Delegate, four as a Senator, and 10 as the Clerk of the House,” Harrison wrote. “I have worked to diligently carry out my duties as a legislator and as the Clerk. In those 24 Regular Sessions and numerous extraordinary sessions, I believe the only day of session I ever missed was the first day of an Extraordinary Session in 1993.” According to his letter, Harrison is the sixth longest serving House Clerk. Harrison also recently oversaw major renovations and technological upgrades in the House Chamber. These improvements included new carpets, soundproof panels, paint, renovated desks with new seats, new microphones and sound systems. Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.comLocal News
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