Voters in the city of St. Clairsville face an important decision Tuesday as all four ward council seats are up for election. Residents in the candidates’ respective districts have to choose whom they wish to represent them in 2022 and beyond.
Recently, city residents had the opportunity to listen to most of the hopefuls during the St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Meet the Candidates night, held at the city’s recreation center. Each Candidate present had the opportunity for to introduce themselves, followed by equal time to answer preselected questions. Finally, each could make a closing statement before the moderator moved on to the next ward and its candidates.
First Ward
First up were the candidates for first ward, a race between John Swan and Donald Vincenzo. Recently, city council decided that the winner of Tuesday’s race for first ward will fill the seat left vacated by former first ward councilman Perry Basille. Basille stepped down back in October.
Swan did not attend the meet the candidate evening, so Vincenzo was left as the lone candidate to speak for the first ward.
Vincenzo is lifelong resident of St. Clairsville and the first ward, a graduate of St. Clairsville. A married father of three, Vincenzo noted that he spent numerous seasons active in youth sports in town, including boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and flag football. He was also an assistant scout leader for Troop 59.
When asked what his best qualifications were, Vincenzo has this to say:
“The job I have now, I have to communicate with customers, contractors, oil producers, and I have to communicate with the environment and safety departments. One of my strengths is my ability to communicate with all departments and citizens.”
Vincenzo has worked for Dominion Energy for more than 30 years.
When asked about his top two goals if elected, Vincenzo mentioned:
“My top two will be that I want to learn about all the aspects of the city, learn from the supervisors and learn the complete function of the city of all the city operations, from water, electric, sewer. I want to know what I can about how the city works.”
Second Ward
Longtime second-ward councilman Frank Sabatino decided not to seek reelection. He will be replaced by the winner of the only three-person race in the city.
Up for election is Bill Brooks, Bill Jeffers, and Jeff Thrash. Jeffers was not in attendance at the event, leaving Brooks and Thrash to introduce themselves to the electorate.
Brooks has lived in St. Clairsville for the last 50 years. He’s married with one daughter, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired steelworker for 20 years at Ormet. Brooks explained he’s been an advocate for senior citizens on fixed incomes and for hard-working families for many years. Most recently, Brooks finished second in the previous mayor’s race in St. Clairsville and has been a fixture at city council meetings, initially during the failed school levy push, and then consistently since the sale of water to
Aqua Ohio was first bandied about. He’s also been the point person for the South Park committee that’s seeking improvements to a seemingly forgotten part of the city’s recreation department, South Park off Clark Avenue.
Thrash is a lifelong St. Clairsville resident and a 2008 graduate of St. Clairsville and 2011 from Belmont College with a business degree. He’s married with three kids and is the owner of the Pizza Shack in the second ward. He said he decided to run a few years ago when the talk of selling the city’s water supply came up and he disagreed with the decision his ward councilman made in regard to the sale.
When asked what made them a qualified, the candidates responded:
Thrash: “I’ve lived my whole life in the second ward. I’ve ran my business in the second ward, and I think St. Clairsville needs to be run like a business. I think I’m the best candidate because I’ve ran a business half of my life.”
Brooks: “I listen to people. I do not believe the city should be run like a business. We can incorporate business, but it should be run like a community. We’re not listening to our citizens and what benefits them. We have the RITA tax, high utilities, you want to work with the citizens, ask them what they want and what they’d like to be done.”
They two were also asked about their top two goals if elected. They responded:
Brooks: “Mine are accountability and transparency, physical responsibility. The citizens are not getting that at this time. There’s a need-to-know attitude. I don’t want to argue, but I want the citizens to know what is going on.”
Thrash “My top goal is to start replacing our water lines. We had 40 water breaks year-to-date. We should be proactive and not reactive. We should also get paving done after the water lines are replaced. My second goal is to make sure police and fire departments have the best stuff that they can and everything they need to make our city a safer place for us and them.”
Finally, the two were asked if they thought the city was going in the right direction and, if not, what would they change.
Thrash: “Yes, I do believe it is. I was at the city office and wanted to look at our finances. In 2019, we had around $9,000 in the bank. In 2020, there is $13 million, and now $16 million. We’re not spending as much and getting stuff done. I want that trend to continue. We need to fix the water without costing our citizens any more money. I’d also like to reduce the RITA tax.”
Brooks: “The city I feel is not going in the best direction it can go. Transparency and accountability: If you have more money in the bank than ever, why are the roads in bad shape? Why do the water lines need replaced? Why is the water plant not in better shape? Yeah, more money is in the bank if you’re not spending it, but we are spending it, on pay raises, spending it on drones, and on other things that really necessary to the city. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, but these are my thoughts and I love this city.”
Third Ward
There is only one candidate seeking the third ward, former Belmont County Commissioner Mark Thomas. Current third-ward councilman John Bukmir opted not to seek reelection. Thomas too was not at the meet the candidate evening.
Fourth Ward
Finally, the election for fourth ward is the only race pitting a current member of city council, in councilwoman Terra Butler. She’s facing former mayor and fourth-ward councilman Terry Pugh.
Butler is a Barnesville native who has lived in St. Clairsville since 2004. She has a degree in early childhood education and owns 20 years in food service. She’s the current head and co-owner of the Newellstown Diner. She has two sons who attend St. Clairsvile schools. When the fourth-ward council seat became available, she sent a letter of interest as she wanted a chance to learn more about city government and was honored to be appointed. She voted yes to halt any further negotiations with Aqua Ohio about selling it the city’s water service. She’s helped constituents keep their utilities on during the pandemic and has taken the concerns of her neighborhood to the city’s service director and all have been addressed.
Pugh has been married for 53 years and has two daughters and three grandchildren. He’s born and raised in St. Clairsville and is a graduate from STCHS and Bethany College with a degree in psychology. He’s a U.S. army veteran and served as a special agent in military intelligence. He also owned two successful businesses in town before selling each. He served on the Cumberland Trail Fire Board for 12 years and is a 38-year-member of the chamber of commerce. He’s a member of Thoburn UMC and American Legion Post 159.
Each was asked what they hoped to accomplish.
Pugh: “I want to increase the cooperation among the council members, which has not been the case in the las two years. I also have many contacts for local and state agencies, and with the water lines in this city, we will have to get grants or we’ll have to get loans. This should have been handled already.”
Butler: “I think we’ve accomplished a lot in the last two years and have worked really hard. But my top concern is replacing the infrastructure. Some lines are over 100 years old and need work.”
When asked what they’d do with a $1 million grant for the city that could be used any way they want, each responded:
Butler: “I think the right way, like I said, is infrastructure. We have very old infrastructure and several places that are flood zones where people have issues with the basements in their homes flooding. Getting those issues replaced and taken care of would be beneficial to the entire city. I also think we could put money into bringing in more businesses and prosperity. There are so many things we could do.”
Pugh: “A million dollars is a lot of money., I’d use this money definitely for the infrastructure. Terra mentioned Bellview, which is an ongoing problem. At one time, we had a $800,000, zero-percent loan for that project, but there was no activity, and that loan has been returned to the Ohio Public Works. So, the 10-miles of four-inch line, a million dollars wouldn’t go that far, but it would help in getting a good bit replaced.”
When asked about their best qualities, each responded:
Pugh “I feel I bring a wealth of knowledge I can share with other council members, and the administration if they’d accept it, which I hope they would. That is my main purpose, and also to make sure the citizens of St. Clairsville are aware of how the money is being spent here.”
Butler: “The past two years, I’ve had many constituents outside and inside my ward come with questions and concerns and it has been a rewarding challenge to go to the city building, to work with the administration, and to get answers. It’s so important for people to get the facts. They can give you all the information you need. Everything that is public knowledge is at your fingertips. I’ve enjoyed being the middle person and I want to continue to do that.”
