CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The executive director of the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority announced Monday he would resign.
Executive Director Joe DeLong said he will step down March 31, according to a release Monday from the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. DeLong was named acting executive director in January 2012, and the authority board voted to make him the permanent chief that following August.
DeLong said Monday he originally intended to stay in the job for five years but felt he could no longer effectively serve his staff as executive director. DeLong said he plans to advocate for regional jail employees who have been “hogtied by a bureaucratic structure that is designed only to make us worse.”
Under DeLong’s leadership, the Regional Jail Authority made gains in such areas as staff conditions, inmate safety and financial soundness.
But despite the agency’s successes, “we’ve struggled to get the Legislature to really pay attention or give anything more than lip service to these employees and their careers.”
DeLong has not announced what, if any, group he will be working with after he leaves the Regional Jail Authority, but said he has been approached by several interested parties multiple times over the years. DeLong said he feels now is the time to dedicate himself to delivering his message more directly to lawmakers.
“I think there is an important fight to be had in the next several months,” he said. “We want to have that conversation with our legislators.”
DeLong previously served four terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Born and raised in Hancock County, DeLong was first elected to represent that area in 2000.
He served as House Majority Leader during his final term. DeLong also previously was deputy secretary of Military Affairs and Public Safety, which includes the Regional Jail Authority, and joined the Cabinet department in July 2010.
Military Affairs and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Joe Thornton called DeLong a “fine public servant.”
“Joe’s commitment to excellence is evident in his accomplishments as director of the Regional Jail Authority. His drive and dedication to ensuring the Authority excels in all facets of meeting his public safety mission has been nothing short of spectacular,” Thornton said. “His ability to identify inefficiencies and develop and implement measures to address them is one of his many attributes as a leader.”
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