So, what is she like? Behind all of those smiles and new ideas?
In private? Behind closed doors? When no one else is looking?
Well, if you want to know an individual’s secret reality, asking a young lady’s father is a terrific place to start, right?
Right.
“She pretty much the same person in every situation I’ve ever seen her in,” confessed her father, David Wood, who is running unopposed in Second Ward on November 8. “Sara is what you call calm, cool, and collected.”
Hm. Well, that’s a bit boring, now isn’t it?
OK, what about her worst fears then?
“Well, I know she’s never been a fan of scary movies,” her father said. “And I know she really doesn’t like spiders very much. She gets away from them pretty fast.”
So, if there was a film about a giant, scary spider? Like “The Giant Spider Invasion” from 1975?
“Now that might freak her out,” David said. “But only for a minute or two.”
Ugh.
Kid on Council?
Wood-Shaw is a rarity around here.
She’s a native who went away for college, earned a major in international development and a minor in political science, and then a graduate degree in public administration. All from West Virginia University, and all in Morgantown.
BUT – wait for it – then she returned to live in her hometown, and that just doesn’t happen all that often around here.
“We are lucky parents, that’s for sure,” David confirmed. “Our (two) sons live close, too, and me and my wife (Linda) wish all our friends had their kids live close, too.”
Wood-Shaw, though, has made an impact on Moundsville, and a positive one at that.
“Sara has always been a very active person. Anytime there was something going on at school, I knew she would be a part of it,” David recalled. “She played sports, was in the Girls Scouts, and she was always very social and always had a lot of friends. Her grades in school were great, too.
“Because I like to tease people from time to time, I have been asked if I was sure she was my daughter because of how nice and pleasant Sara always is with others. Trust me, she’s never had a problem with jumping in to help others when people need help,” he said. “She’s always up to date with all of the issues locally and nationally so she is able to talk about those things to us on council.”
Wood-Shaw has been accepted, too, by the municipality’s residents, a citizenship that owns a median age of 49 years.
“So far, Sara has helped start some very nice programs here in Moundsville and people have a lot of fun with them,” David explained. “But that’s only one reason why our residents and the other council members listen to her. Sure, she is the youngest person on council, but she is always calm and collected when it comes to her sharing her ideas and thoughts.
“Sara makes sense when she is explaining how she feels about this and about that, and when she has brought to the other council members a new idea, they stop and listen because she’s proven to them that she is very serious about making Moundsville a better place for everyone,” he said. “Not just for people her own age, but for everyone who lives in our city. She makes me and her mother very proud.”
The Father-Daughter Dynamic
Both David Wood and his daughter, Sara Wood-Shaw, will be on the ballot come November 8. David is running unopposed for the seat representing Ward 2, and two opponents are challenging Sara for the At-Large position.
The winners in both races would then serve four-year terms.
The history-making experience of serving on city council together is one unforeseen, but it’s also a productive pairing.
“Some of Sara’s ideas … well … I’m a little older than she is so some of her ideas have to be explained because I’m not as up to date as she is most of the time,” David said. “But, after she’s explained everything to me and to the others, there usually isn’t much of a debate because she always comes to our meetings as prepared as anyone can be. That’s just how she goes about it and it works very well.”
But they fight, right? They have to at least squabble, right?
After years of debating curfews and allowances, and the almost 40 years in age difference between the father and daughter, certainly issues like a noise ordinance or live music events cause fiery public debates, right?
“We may both be very stubborn, but neither one of us is a shouter,” Sara insisted. “My father has been a member of council for more than 20 years, and when I decided to run for a position four years ago, he was unopposed so I knew if I won we would be serving together. It’s been a very special experience, that I will tell you.
“I do sit right next to him during the meetings so we go back and forth a good bit, but we do not argue at all,” she confessed. “We do work together very well.”
So, who gets the credit for Sara’s personality, her demeanor, and her dedication to civil service?
Finally, this father-daughter duo disagrees!
“I always give my wife Linda most of the credit for Sara because they are so much alike,” Councilman Wood insisted. “When they are together, just watch them. People see it very quickly.”
Moundsville’s Vice Mayor, however, offers a differing opinion.
“From time to time, my mother will say, ‘You are so much like your father’,” Sara said with a chuckle. “It’s a good thing, too, because we both like to be involved with a lot of things that make our community a better place. That’s always been our only goal.”
