Dave Hardy
Cabinet Secretary
Governor Jim Justice appointed Dave Hardy cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Revenue effective January 16, 2017. He also will serve as the governor’s designee on both the Municipal Home Rule Board and the Board of Treasury Investments.
Secretary Hardy has more than 33 years of experience in private legal practice and is also a certified public accountant with decades of experience balancing the budget for the Mountain State’s most populous county. He has a combined 21 years of service to the citizens of Kanawha County, first as a member of Charleston City Council from 1995 to 2001, and later as a commissioner on the Kanawha County Commission from 2001 to 2017.
As a lawyer, Secretary Hardy is experienced in all aspects of the mining industry, including occupational and mine health and safety matters and deliberate intent occupational injury litigation and been designated a “Best Lawyer in America” in energy law as well as a “Top Lawyer” in the West Virginia Top Lawyers Guide. He has lectured widely throughout the country in the areas of occupational and mine health and safety law and he currently teaches a master’s degree level class on public budgeting at West Virginia State University.
Secretary Hardy is a proud native of Pratt, W.Va. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history and government and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He was named a partner at Jackson Kelly law firm in 1993 and in 2012 he formed the Hardy Pence firm, which specializes in mining and energy law. He also has served on the board of the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences and the Charleston Area Alliance.
Secretary Hardy lives in Charleston with his wife of 31 years, Nadia. They have two children, Scott and Kristen.