Gus Douglass
| Gus R. Douglass | |
|---|---|
Douglass in September 2008
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| West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture | |
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In office 1993–2013 |
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| Governor | Gaston Caperton, Cecil H. Underwood, Bob Wise, Joe Manchin, Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Preceded by | Cleve Benedict |
| Succeeded by | Walt Helmick |
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In office 1965–1989 |
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| Governor | Hulett C. Smith, Arch A. Moore, Jr., Jay Rockefeller |
| Preceded by | John T. Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Cleve Benedict |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 22, 1927 Mason County, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 2015 (aged 88) Mason County, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Lee Douglass |
| Alma mater | West Virginia University |
Gus R. Douglass (February 22, 1927 – March 19, 2015) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who served as Agriculture Commissioner of West Virginia for 44 years. First elected to that post in 1964, he served from 1965 to 1989, when he left office having run unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Governor, and again from 1993 to 2013. He was the longest-serving Agriculture Commissioner in US history.
Douglass was born in Mason County in 1927 and raised in Grimms Landing, West Virginia. He served as state and national president of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) as the first president of the FFA to hail from West Virginia, and later was the inaugural president of the National FFA Alumni Association. He is also a 4-H All-Star. Douglas holds a bachelor's degree and an honorary Doctor of Sciences from West Virginia University and an honorary Doctor of Laws from West Virginia State University. Prior to beginning work for the Department of Agriculture, Douglass operated a farm equipment and motor truck dealership.
Douglass, then a farmer in Mason County, was recruited to the position of Assistant Commissioner in the West Virginia Department of Agriculture by then-Commissioner John T. Johnson in 1957. He went on to serve as Commissioner in his own right for six terms between 1965 and 1989, and five more between 1993 and 2013. He unsuccessfully ran for Governor of West Virginia in 1988.
Douglass was re-elected in 2008 over Republican nominee J. Michael Teets, having campaigned on his record of having established programs for meat inspection, food safety and animal health, and calling for technology and security measures including a mobile laboratory able to identify viruses more quickly. In his last term, he successfully acquired funding from the West Virginia Legislature for a cold storage facility near Ripley which is used to store food for the state's schools and its donated foods program, and could also be used for disaster preparation.
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