Bellaire’s Write-In Mayor Determined to Rid Village of ‘Bell-dirty’ Nickname

He had the thirty bucks in his pocket and 30 minutes to register.

So that is what Ed Marling did at the Belmont County Board of Elections Office on the very final day. He had been asked by Bellaire residents to be a mayoral candidate in Bellaire, and that included now-former mayor Vince DeFabrizio. Marling, who has lived in the village of Bellaire for seven years, was involved in politics in Shadyside for 20 years, including a multi-term tenure as the mayor.

“Pretty sure the reason people were asking me to run here in Bellaire was because of my experience,” the mayor said on River Talk-Wheeling. “But when Vince asked me, I think it sunk in, and I started really thinking about it.”

So, he filed, but he did not tell his wife.

“When I mentioned it before I filed, she said I didn’t need to get that involved,” Marling recalled. “But after the Board of Elections called and told me, it was official, I had to tell her because it would be in the news, and she would see it.

“Well, she cussed me pretty good when I told her,” he said with a laugh. “But she’s been there for me since we started campaigning, and she’s the one who is on social media responding to people with questions and complaints. But I’m in the office from about 5 in the morning until about 5 in the afternoon, and I’ll meet with anyone. And yeah, even with the residents that want to cuss me out, too.”

The Big Scrub

The moniker is not new.

It’s been around since the closing of the Bellaire Toll Bridge and the construction of Ohio Route 7 in the early 1990s caused residential relocation and a lack of access to a community once known as “The Great American Town.”

The state highway once flowed right through Bellaire, Ohio, and most of the houses were single-family dwellings. A hospital, a couple of high schools, and a downtown provided all services necessary. The toll bridge delivered folks to and from West Virginia to the heart of Bellaire’s commercial district during a time when the town’s population was more than 8,000 residents.

There are only about 4,000 Bellaire residents today, and there’s no reason to believe that number will increase for the first time since the 1940s.

“The bridge shutting down was bad because it made it so convenient for the people from Wheeling and Moundsville when it was open, but that highway is what really killed this town,” Marling insisted. “I lived in Shadyside at the time, and it didn’t affect us down there, but it devastated Bellaire.

“I don’t think this town has gotten over that yet, so I think it’s time to clean this place up and let people be proud about where they live again,” he said. “I hate that nickname, and I always have. The people of Bellaire don’t deserve it, so it’s time for us to work together to get the alleys cleared of all of the junk, and to continue taking down the rundown vacant houses so we can get rid of that stigma that’s attached to Bellaire right now.”

A Slim Margin

Marling defeated candidate Michael W. Doyle 245 to 213 in November. That’s right, just 32 votes.

“But I thought I would have gotten a lot more votes than that,” he said with a chuckle. “But one more than the other person is enough when it comes to these things, so now I just hope we can work together to get things right in Bellaire. I want to replace water and sewer lines, and I want to get the roads fixed, but all we have coming is the revenue from the income tax.

“That’s why I believe we need a person, an administrator, that knows where to go to get those dollars from the state of Ohio and the federal government so we can get some things done in this town,” Marling insisted. “I’ll work with anyone and everyone to help bring Bellaire back to what it can be these days. I can remember the downtown and thought it was better than downtown Wheeling. It’ll never be that again, but it can be more than what it is now.”

Marling wants to crack down on some of the owners of rental properties, and he wants to further promote the purchases of lots left vacant following demolitions. He wants to plant trees, too, and the mayor hopes to add basketball courts in various areas of the village.

“I know Bellaire has an ordinance that mandates those rental properties be inspected before a new tenant moves into a property, but I think those property owners are sneaking the new people in to avoid the inspections,” Marling insisted. “That’s why the town’s alleys are such a mess. Who thinks it’s OK to just throw an old couch into an alley and just leave it?

“If we’re ever going to make a positive difference and make Bellaire a better place, it’s going to take unity,” the mayor added. “The best thing about Bellaire is the people. We have a lot of genuine, thoughtful people, and they still have a lot of pride in Bellaire. That’s why I ran for this job, and it’s why I believe if we can come together, we might just be able to get back to being a great American town again.”