He’ll offer his very first Mayor’s Report. He’ll vote to pay some bills. He’ll hear from the councilors from each of the city’s six wards. A list of new propositions will be read, as well.
And all the while, Denny Magruder will preside over his very first regular council meeting as the new mayor of Wheeling. He’ll do it differently than Glenn Elliott did just like Elliott wasn’t similar at all to his predecessor, Andy McKenzie, and Magruder also will bring a much different style of leadership to the office.
He used the term “team” over and over during Monday’s official swearing-in for him and the other six members. The “team” will address this, and the “team” will talk about that, and “we’ll address that issue as a team.”
Near the end of his first-day speech at the Capitol Ballroom, Magruder also said, “I’m really excited to be your mayor.”
You could tell he is, too.
Magruder always has known how to work a room, and he’s a familiar man who has been a fixture of our community for decades. He’s likable, uses familiar language, and, if nothing else, he’s usually the most approachable person at any function because he’s more than willing to talk to anyone at any time about an idea that will push the Friendly City forward.
That’s because he’s not a politician. Seriously. Many politicians claim NOT to be politicians, but Magruder really isn’t because he knows nothing more than being a member of the Wheeling community who wishes to find ways to make the improvements we need to make. Plus, you won’t see Denny Magruder’s name associated with running for a higher office after serving as Wheeling’s mayor, and you won’t hear him bash someone who disagrees with him.
It’s this simple. After a few months of retirement, he took a look around his town and didn’t like what he saw. So, he ran. And he won. And here we are with optimism in the air, division in the rear-view mirror, and with a leader with only Wheeling on his mind.
