She had not yet started knocking on doors in Wheeling’s Ward 4, and now candidate Crissy Clutter is wondering what the next step might be.
There’s that “stay at home” order to consider and also the fact confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus have taken place in Ohio County, so going door-to-door isn’t an option. Campaign signs are good, but now they will be seen far less frequently than ever before because of the governor’s mandates.
“I did put out about 60 signs over the weekend because right now no one seems to know what’s going to happen and how the voting will take place,” Clutter said. “I’m just moving forward as if most things are normal, but I was planning to knock on doors, and that’s not possible right now.
“I know I’m going to use social media to reach out to the people of Ward 4, but I also know not everyone is on Facebook and Twitter and platforms like that,” she continued. “I know my mother has an a Facebook page, but she may sign on once every three or four days, and my grandmother doesn’t have an account, so we doesn’t see anything that’s posted on there by the council members or the mayor. I’m the one who tells her about those things.”
Extending the Reach
She knows many of her neighbors and several of her best friends own homes within the Ward 4 borders.
Asking them to acquire telephone numbers for ward residents is one idea, and the other is to put her cell number out to the public so others have the opportunity to reach out to her.
Clutter’s cell number is 304-280-3414, and she would like it to be shared as much as possible.
“Anyone who lives in Ward 4 should feel to call me to talk about the issues that they have their mind,” the candidate said. “I know that the hilltop in Woodsdale is what a lot of people have been concentrating on, but I am fully aware that we have issues in every part of Ward 4. There are sewer issues, intersection issues, and there’s the weight limit on the Washington Avenue Bridge that’s causing our fire department to take different routes to help our residents.
“I made the decision to run because I want to make my home a better place,” Clutter said. “I know that sounds corny, but I’m married now, and I’m a new mother, too, so when I say that to people, I hope they know that I’m just being honest. I worked in the media for several years, and I have covered a lot of stories in this ward, so I am already familiar with a lot of that history. I believe that experience will help a great deal if I’m elected.”
That Hilltop
Clutter is a reporter by nature, so she has all of those who-what-where-why-when questions constantly floating in her mind.
So, when it comes to the proposed development atop Woodsdale Hill, Clutter knows the who and the where, but in her opinion so many more questions need answered before she can develop any honest stance on the project.
“What’s causing the problems that some of the residents have reported? What work was performed on that hill before the project was shut down? Why are people divided over it when most of the hilltops in the area have retail areas or home on top of them? Those are some of the questions I have now,” Clutter said. “And I am sure I’ll have more questions once I really get into it.”
Proposal Presented
GC&P Development proposed several years ago a mixed-use village that would include both residential and commercial properties. When the developers approach the city’s Planning Commission, they shared only surface information because of local competition. The project would involve the leveling of the hilltop on the north side, and removing sandstone and other materials would be included, as well.
“I have been invited to go to the top of the hill by the developers, so I plan to do that when it’s possible again,” Clutter said. “And I want to go to the areas where residents have said they’ve experienced problems. I believe that’s what a council representative is supposed to do. See it for yourself.
“I also think the city needs to have an impartial person who knows the engineering that’s involved here so we can just hear facts from him or her,” she said. “A candidate or a council member can say what they want, but without an expert’s opinion, how could anyone make a truly informed decision?”
An Odd Endorsement
It was awkward and embarrassing, Clutter believes, but not for her but instead for the soon-to-be-former council representative Wendy Scatterday.
The date was March 10, and there was a forum hosted by the leaders of Temple Shalom on the corner of Edgwood Street and Bethany Pike. The three candidates for the vacated seat, Clutter, Jeff Knierim, and Jerry Sklavounakis, were present along with a respectful number of residents from Ward 4, and each candidate was invited to speak with the collected crowd.
According to Clutter, it was during Knierim’s turn in the front of the room when Scatterday suddenly offered her endorsement for Sklavounakis.
“Jeff was the one who was standing in the front of the room and was in the middle of speaking when she just stood up and interrupted. I really felt bad for him,” Clutter recalled. “I really did feel bad for Jeff because I didn’t realize we were going to have dirty politics in a city race. I didn’t think something like that was going to happen.
“I had never heard of a city council candidate getting endorsed by a current council member or by anyone else for that matter,” Clutter said. “During my career, I covered council races in all 55 counties in West Virginia, and I’ve also worked in Pittsburgh, and never have I heard of such a thing. Now, I understand that she has every right to endorse whomever she wants, but I do not believe it was done very professionally, and I also thought it was kind of mean, too, and not necessarily toward me but toward Jeff.”
Reaction and Response
When contacted about Scatterday’s surprise endorsement, Sklavounakis stated in a message, “I truly appreciate the Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly of Wheeling, the Ironworkers, Councilwoman Scatterday, and my many neighbors’ endorsements of me. I look forward to the opportunity to earn more endorsements before the election. I cannot wait to work with all stakeholders to improve the quality of life for all residents of Ward 4 and the city. Thank you.”
Clutter spoke with Sklavounakis and was informed that the abrupt interruption was completely unexpected for the involved, including the candidate receiving the endorsement. And she believes him.
“Jerry is a nice man who is in the race for the same reasons we all are, and that is to help our neighbors,” she said. “It just felt set-up and strange, and it gave me a bad feeling about the whole thing. But then I started hearing from other people and that allowed me to know that, yeah, that was really an odd, unprofessional thing to do.
“Another thing that bothered me about it is Wendy has never really given me a chance to get to know her, and I think she’s only spoken to me two or three times,” Clutter explained. “Every time I’ve tried to speak with her, she’s cut me off, and I don’t know why that is. She doesn’t know me at all, so I really don’t know what the story is there.”
