WV Supreme Court to rule on Ag Commissioner candidate qualifications
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February 27, 2012
Charleston, West Virginia: The West Virginia Supreme Court will have to determine if Walt Helmick's candidacy for West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture is valid. Joe Starcher, a former Agriculture Department official, filed the suit against Helmick claiming that he failed to meet the requirements for candidacy. Chapter 19, Article 1 of West Virginia Code stipulates the commissioner of agriculture "shall be a practical farmer, learned in the science of agriculture, and shall have made agriculture his chief business for a period of ten years immediately preceding his election."[1] Helmick is currently a state senator and one of five candidates for the post. He claims that he has a business that qualifies.[2] The Charleston Gazette reported "According to his financial disclosure filed with the state Ethics Commission, Helmick's primary occupations are as state senator and owner of Allegheny Lodge LLC, a Pocahontas County company that produces bottled water and rents vacation cabins." Helmick also argues that the law no longer applies as it has not been applied recently and falls to the way side based on the legal doctrine of desuetude which holds that laws that are no longer applied, no longer carry the force of law. Helmick argues that current Commissioner Gus Douglas because agriculture was no longer his chief business once elected, and he has served 11 terms as commissioner.[3]
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