CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Between 2014 and 2019, State Treasurer John Perdue spent $1.8 million of taxpayer money with the same Charleston-based media firm, The Manahan Group, that handles his political campaign work, according to official state records.(LINK BELOW)

State records reveal that a large majority of the work that the firm is being compensated for is to advertise the prepaid tuition program, which was closed to new enrollments in 2003 by the State Legislature because it was taking on massive amounts of debt. At the same time, Perdue was also paying The Manahan Group hundreds of thousands of dollars to run his political campaigns.

“It is outrageous that John Perdue would pay his political operatives millions in taxpayer dollars for advertising and marketing services particularly for the prepaid tuition program, which the State Legislature ended seventeen years ago. This just does not add up,” said conservative candidate running for State Treasurer, Riley Moore. “Surely this money could have been better spent addressing more urgent issues to West Virginians, such as programs to address the opioid crisis, grow our job market, or fix our roads and bridges.”

Moore said he believes the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office needs more transparency and accountability to avoid these kinds of problematic issues in the future. He also highlights that Perdue has been in office nearly a quarter of a century and has failed to update and modernize the office falling short of what the people of West Virginia expect and deserve.

“John Perdue has spent his entire career in politics and needs to understand times have changed,” Moore said. “The political machines of yesteryear that served to only enrich the political elite and insiders using our tax dollars are over. If elected State Treasurer, I will bring a series of rules and regulations to the office to ensure West Virginians know and can easily see how their tax dollars are being spent,” Moore continued.

Riley Moore is a true conservative running for West Virginia State Treasurer. He is from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where he resides with his wife, Mina, and daughter, Lena.

Link to payments:

https://westvirginia.opengov.com/transparency#/26219/query=7C817524F35BEE5983601899785E7E0B&embed=n