Miller resigns Senate seat for Agriculture position

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With a little more than a year to go in his second term, state Sen. Ron Miller, D-Greenbrier, has resigned his post, effective at the end of the month, to accept a job in Gov. Jim Justice’s administration.

“It was not an easy decision,” Miller told The Register-Herald as he traveled back from Charleston Thursday after cleaning out his Senate office. “But I knew I was not running again, and this opportunity was one I just couldn’t pass up.”

Miller said he will work as a liaison with the state Agriculture Commissioner, with an emphasis on agricultural development.

Saying he hasn’t felt completely “effective” in his senatorial role over the past couple of years, Miller said he is nonetheless saddened to be leaving the legislative body.

“I never really understood what ‘bittersweet’ meant until I did this,” he said. “But this is a bittersweet thing for me. I was honored to serve in the Senate.”

Miller said the Democratic Party’s State Executive Committee will submit a list of three names to the governor for consideration for the unexpired senatorial term within the next 15 days. The governor can either appoint one of those people to fill Miller’s senate seat or choose another, as long as the person selected is a democrat, Miller said.

“I hope whoever the governor appoints to replace me will be more effective for the district,” he said.

“This governor really supports agriculture and agricultural diversification,” Miller said. “I think we can really accomplish something here.”

Just as an example, he said medical marijuana cultivation could mean hundreds of jobs in the Mountain State, as long as regulations for this new industry are carefully crafted.

Saying he has “no political ambitions,” Miller noted the job he’s about to tackle will likely be his last.

“After this, I’ll be ready to retire to the farm — bake bread, cook and milk a cow,” he chuckled.