Gus Douglass

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 is the longest-serving Agriculture Commissioner in US history.

Early life

Douglass was born in Mason County in 1927 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.

Career

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 was elected Commissioner in his own right in 1964, serving six terms between 1964 and 1988, when he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of West Virginia (losing the Democratic primary to Gaston Caperton), and five more since 1992. 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.

During his tenure as Agriculture Commissioner, Douglass has served as president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the Southern United States Trade Association; and chair of the Southern Regional Committee for Food and Agriculture and the United States Secretary of Agriculture's Advisory Committee on Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases.

Douglass worked at the West Virginia Department of Agriculture for half its 100-year history.

Retirement

Douglass announced on May 17, 2011 that he would not seek re-election in 2012, after colleagues in the Department of Agriculture expressed an interest in the position of Commissioner. At the press conference at which he announced his retirement, he described his electoral history as "truly humbling." In his retirement, he is considering writing a book about his experiences with the Governors of West Virginia under whom he has served. Douglass was succeeded in 2013 by Walt Helmick.

Personal life

Douglass ran a 540-acre farm which specialises in beef cattle and grain production with his son, Tom. He and his wife, Anna Lee, had four children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Death

Douglass fell in his house in Mason County on March 17, 2015. Douglass lived alone at his farm, since his wife died, with his daughter and granddaughter taking care of him. He died on March 19, 2015, aged 88.