Mary Ann Claytor
Political party: Democrat
Family: I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Howard “Cookie” Claytor, for 36 years. We have three children and five grandchildren. I left the auditor’s office to care full time for my son Cedric, who was paralyzed and suffered neurological damage from an anti-rejection medication from an organ transplant. It broke my heart when Cedric passed away in January of this year, but it reignited my passion for public service.
Education: I have a B.S.B.A. in accounting from West Virginia State College and an M.A. in religion from Liberty University.
Professional experience: I worked for 22 years as an auditor for the state of West Virginia. During that time, I provided training to local governments and performed financial and compliance audits. After leaving the auditor’s office to care for my son, I worked on financial statements for local governments at a discounted rate.
Political and civic experience: I was the Democratic nominee for state auditor in 2016 and the press secretary for the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women. I also go to jails and nursing homes as part of a church ministry.
Why did you decide to seek office?
I didn’t know you were supposed to seek backing from political leaders before running for office. So, when I heard Auditor Gainer was stepping down, I decided to step up. I knew we hadn’t had an accountant in the auditor’s office for decades, and I knew that my education and experience qualified me to run the office I had worked in for 22 years.
What is the most important issue you believe your office will face in the next year, and how will you address it?
We have to get our audits up to date and streamline the auditing process. We are risking countless taxpayer dollars by not keeping up-to-date on audits. Fraud and mistakes happen. The longer we wait to catch them, the worse the problem becomes.
John “JB” McCuskey
Political party: Republican
Age: 39
Residence: Charleston
Family: Wife, Wendy, daughters, Cam and Matti.
Education: B.A. in political communication from The George Washington University; J.D. from WVU School of Law.
Professional experience: Attorney for Shuman, McCuskey and Slicer, Steptoe and Johnson, current state auditor.
Political and civic experience: Two-term member of the House of Delegates for the 35th District.
Why did you decide to seek office?
I am proud to say that West Virginia is now the most transparent state in the country, but I believe that while great progress has been made toward creating a more efficient and responsible state government, there is still much to be done to bring the state into its bright future ahead through good government and fiscal responsibility. I chose to run for re-election to help foster new growth and vision in the coming years in the state I am immensely proud to call my home.
What is the most important issue you believe your office will face in the next year, and how will you address it?
The presence of waste, fraud and abuse throughout state government. To address this, we must build on the reformations and repairs to the state’s integrated accounting system and our state audit process to make it more accurate, faster and more capable of detecting abnormalities. This will help us as we use our newly created, first-of-its-kind, taxpayer intercept program that intercepts state payments to entities who owe the state money.
