December 17th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

The Cumberland Times News reports that Delegat Gary Howell (R-Mineral) has been selected as the House of Delegates’ speaker pro tempore for the upcoming legislative session. House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) announced Howell’s appointment Monday in a news release. Howell succeeds former Del. Daryl Cowles (R-Morgan). The speaker pro tempore presides over the floor sessions if the speaker is not available. “Since he was first elected in 2010, Gary has built a reputation of being a strong voice for conservative values in the Legislature,” said Hanshaw in the release. “He’s shown that he’s willing to embrace innovative ideas to improve our state and benefit all West Virginians.” Hanshaw noted that in his role as the Government Organization committee chairman, Howell “held agency bureaucrats’ feet to the fire to get them to better serve citizens, reformed the state’s vehicle fleet so that taxpayers can actually know how many vehicles this state owns, and led initiatives to reform our occupational licensing boards to make it easier for people to get jobs in this state.” “As speaker pro tempore, he’ll be able to continue pushing innovative ideas to make West Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Hanshaw said. Howell is the first official from Mineral County to hold the role, he said Wednesday.