News + Press
News + Press
News + Press
WVDP Calls on Senator Jay Taylor to Explain Failure to Disclose Auditor’s Office Contract and Income
For Immediate Release June 1, 2026
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Democratic Party is calling on State Senator Jay Taylor to explain why he failed to disclose a contract and income from the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office on the Financial Disclosure Statement he filed with the West Virginia Ethics Commission on February 2, 2026.
On May 28, 2026, Taylor told WBOY-TV that he had a contract with the State Auditor’s Office in Clarksburg during the previous year. Yet on his Financial Disclosure Statement, Taylor checked “No” in response to Question 9, which asks whether the filer had any “sales or contracts with state, county or local government” during the past calendar year.
Taylor also failed to disclose the Auditor’s Office contract or compensation in response to Question 13 of the same filing, which requires disclosure of “ALL sources of income over $1,000” received during the prior calendar year.
In the WBOY interview, Taylor acknowledged that he was paid $5,000 by the Auditor’s Office during 2025. That compensation appears nowhere on the disclosure statement he filed with the Ethics Commission.
“Senator Taylor’s own public statements raise serious questions about the accuracy and completeness of the financial disclosure form he filed under oath,” said West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin. “Question 9 asks whether the filer had contracts with state government. Senator Taylor now says he had a contract with the State Auditor’s Office. Question 13 asks for all sources of income over $1,000. Senator Taylor says he was paid $5,000 by the Auditor’s Office. If that’s true, why wasn’t any of it disclosed?”
The omissions are especially troubling given the controversy surrounding Taylor’s relationship with the Auditor’s Office. Before Taylor accepted the position, Attorney General J.B. McCuskey advised the State Auditor that members of the Legislature were prohibited from serving as state employees. As a sitting senator, Taylor was fully aware that any employment or contractual relationship with the Auditor’s Office would receive heightened public scrutiny.
“Senator Taylor knew from the beginning that this arrangement raised legal and constitutional concerns,” Pushkin said. “That makes it all the more important that he be completely transparent about the nature of his relationship with the Auditor’s Office and any compensation he received.”
West Virginia law provides penalties for knowingly filing false or misleading financial disclosure statements. West Virginia Code § 6B-2-10(b) states that “any person who violates the provisions of subsection (f), section six of this article by willfully and knowingly filing a false financial statement or knowingly and willfully concealing a material fact in filing the statement is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in jail not more than one year, or both.”
“The issue before Senator Taylor is simple,” Pushkin said. “He told the public he had a contract with the Auditor’s Office and was paid $5,000. His financial disclosure form says nothing about either one. West Virginians deserve a clear explanation.”
The West Virginia Democratic Party is calling on Senator Taylor to publicly explain why the contract and income he acknowledged receiving from the Auditor’s Office were not disclosed on the Financial Disclosure Statement he filed with the West Virginia Ethics Commission.
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