The City of Martins Ferry hosted a Meet the Candidate Night on Sunday for the upcoming election for the Belmont County Commission seat that will be decided during the November primary.
Republican candidates Vince Gianangeli and current Commissioner Jerry Echemann, who will face off during the May primary, were joined by Democrat candidate Jack Regis Sr. inside the second-floor gymnasium at the Martins Ferry Recreation Center.
While turnout was somewhat light, there was a good cross-section between local political officials and average citizens.
The format began with an introductory period from each candidate, followed by the answering of a few submitted questions, along with a brief Q&A period with the audience.
Commissioner Echemann spent most of his introductory period more on what he and the other commissioners have accomplished the last few years, along with detailing the struggles of trying to work through the pandemic and all the issues it caused.
He noted that he’s one part of a three-person team and that working together, the commissioners were able to get things accomplished.
Gianangeli, presently the principal at St. John Central Academy, has a long history of working in government, from serving the state as a fraud examiner, to eventually finishing as director at Belmont County’s Job & Family Services. He currently also serves as the fiscal officer for Colerain Township.
Regis, a current at-large councilman for the City of Martins Ferry, also has a lengthy history of public service, both as a councilman and former mayor of Martins Ferry. He admitted that because he doesn’t face an opponent in the primary, he waned to allow the two candidates facing off in a primary to have the floor and didn’t take his full five-minute allotment during the introductory period.
Questions Asked
The first audience-submitted question dealt with the commission’s current policy regarding utilizing EORH for services for its seniors and not just WVU Hospitals.
Echemann noted that the county had revised its original plan and that all three medical providers in Belmont County—EORH, WVU Hospitals, and Trinity—were being utilized by senior services.
He admitted some missteps may have been taken with the original plan, but believes now a solid, and fair distribution of services is in place that will benefit all hospitals. He also felt that some of the negative press surrounding the situation got a little blown out of proportion, and without naming names, noted that he was surprised that some were talking of not voting for a then-upcoming senior services levy, because of the situation.
The levy passed and, later, all three medical providers began to benefit. He explained that services have successfully been provided by EORH recently at multiple senior centers in the county.
Regis, admitting he was a little biased by living in Martins Ferry, believed EORH should have been given priority initially because it’s entirely housed in Belmont County. While WVU Hospitals and Trinity have facilities in-county, both are based in other counties or, in the case of WVU, across the border in West Virginia.
The next question to pop up, and once re-asked in a slightly different manner later, dealt with the what-if scenarios if the cracker plant doesn’t’ come to fruition.
All three candidates naturally expressed support for PTT Global in its hunt for a new partner to officially get the ball rolling down in Dilles Bottom. Many area residents are banking on the eventual construction and running of the facility to infuse jobs, tax dollars, and spin-off industries for the Ohio Valley.
But what if it doesn’t happen? Echemann noted that the site itself is the back-up plan for the facility. Much has been invested already in the area the cracker plant is to be built. If it falls through, the county has an incredibly marketable piece of property to point out to other potential parties.
Gianangeli and Regis echoed the sentiments of support for PTT Global, as well as noting that any new information is being played “close to the vest” before any official announcement is made.
In regard to that, a gentleman asked about workers in the oil and gas industry he talked to, that received their training and were hired from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as opposed to Ohio, because those areas have training facilities that directly correlate to what those industries are looking for.
Gianangeli that types of training and funding are available and through an arm of the Department of Job and Family Services, those are obtainable. He did not that more could be done to match up training with targeted industries seeking employment.
Regis discussed possibly sitting down with industry leaders, as well as reps from area local colleges and talking about exactly what’s needed and getting everyone on board to provide both students or adults the necessary training to get them out in the industry and working.
