Virginia’s Agriculture Secretary to become new Commerce Secretary

Governor Terry McAuliffe issued this statement announcing that Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore will become the next Secretary of Commerce and Trade in Virginia.

Haymore will succeed Secretary Maurice Jones who is leaving to become Chief Executive Officer of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in September:

“The agencies that comprise the Secretariat of Commerce and Trade are at the epicenter of my administration’s efforts to grow and diversify our economy, and I know that Secretary Haymore will hit the ground running creating jobs and new economic opportunity for families in every corner of our Commonwealth,” McAuliffe was quoted as saying in a press release.

Governor McAuliffe reappointed Haymore to serve as Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry in 2014. He had served in the same capacity since 2010, when he was first appointed by then-Governor Bob McDonnell.

During his tenure, Haymore has been responsible for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF), and the Virginia Racing Commission. Prior to his appointment as Secretary, Haymore was VDACS Commissioner under former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

Secretary Maurice Jones will leave the McAuliffe administration in September to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, an organization that works with low-income communities to create new opportunities for businesses and residents to thrive. He was appointed Secretary of Commerce and Trade in January 2014.

Prior to the McAuliffe administration, Jones was Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).