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Ann Urling Seeks West Virginia Treasurer’s Seat

Photo by Casey Junkins Charleston resident Ann Urling serves as senior vice president of Summit Community Bank.

WHEELING –Ann Urling hopes to break the glass ceiling on Nov. 8 by becoming the first woman elected to serve as West Virginia treasurer.

She would also be the first Republican to win the position since 1928.

Urling will challenge Democrat Treasurer John Perdue, who initially took office after winning the 1996 election. While Perdue touts his public service with the state that began in 1973, Urling highlights her career of nearly 30 years in the financial industry.

Although her potential election to the office would be historic, Urling hopes voters choose her based on experience and qualifications rather than her gender.

“The state treasurer is the chief financial officer,” she said during a recent visit to Wheeling. “Doesn’t it make sense to have an experienced banker serve in that capacity?”

Urling, 52, of Charleston, is now senior vice president of Summit Community Bank, formerly Capital State Bank, a local community bank headquartered in Moorefield, W.Va. She joined the bank in May 1999 and has 29 years of retail banking, management and lending experience.

After growing up in Shinnston, W.Va., Urling earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from West Virginia University before later graduating from the West Virginia School of Banking. She then began her long career in the financial industry.

Urling said the state treasurer needs to provide both more transparency regarding how money is being spent, as well as more advice on how to balance the budget.

“There is not a lot of transparency in the treasurer’s office. We should be able to easily see how our money is being spent,” she said. “We should be able to easily find out how many employees he has and how much they are being paid.”

“A lot has changed since he took office 20 years ago,” Urling said of Perdue.

Urling also questioned Perdue’s practice of personally delivering checks to those who are due refunds from the state.

“It seems like the treasurer spends a lot of time delivering these checks,” she said.

The treasurer also needs to provide more advice to the Legislature and the governor on how to keep the budget balanced, Urling said.

“As a community banker, I sit down with clients to help them figure out their finances,” she said.

Urling lives in Charleston with her husband, Chip, and two of their three children. Their eldest child now resides in Utah.

“I’ve gotten a good reception everywhere I’ve gone,” Urling said of her campaign efforts. “I will give it my all.”

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