Thalman Officially Launches 2024 Wheeling Mayoral Bid
Eric Ayres Trending
WHEELING -- Vice Mayor Chad Thalman on Tuesday night officially launched his campaign to "Continue the Comeback," laying the framework of his platform in the race to become Wheeling's next mayor in 2024.
"Progress is contagious," Thalman said. "People are starting to believe again. You can see it. You can feel it. For the first time in my life, more people are talking about what's going on now and what might happen in the future than reminiscing about the past or what we have lost."
Thalman's campaign kickoff Tuesday evening was held at 1306 Market St. in a section of downtown that was closed to traffic because of the ongoing, multimillion-dollar Downtown Streetscape Project. Guests had to traverse around orange barrels and heavy equipment through the construction zone to get to their destination, but once inside, most got their first glimpse of the impressive new renovations inside an historic downtown building formerly occupied by Posins Jewelers.
The scene resonated with Thalman's theme highlighting that good things are happening in Wheeling and major changes are well underway.
"Yes, orange barrels are inconvenient, but they're a sign of growth and progress," said Thalman, who was introduced by current Mayor Glenn Elliott Jr., who is completing his second term in office and cannot run for re-election as mayor because of term limits. "As Mayor Elliott likes to say, orange is the new green in Wheeling with all the private investment and commerce likely to follow this once-in-a-generation reshaping of our downtown footprint."
A who's who of local dignitaries, community leaders, local business owners and a bipartisan representation of local and state officials joined together with family and friends for Thalman's campaign launch party, a gathering that included five members of the current Wheeling City Council.
Thalman, of Warwood, has served as the city's Ward 1 councilman since 2016, when he was also appointed as vice mayor after taking the seat. He said many people have asked him in recent years whether or not he planned to run for mayor to take the seat after Elliott's term is completed.
"It's really something I'm doing because there's so much momentum in the city of Wheeling," he said. "There are so many people putting their time and energy into improving the city, and I just want to do my part to continue helping Wheeling make this comeback."
Since taking office, Thalman has been part of city leadership that has helped bring a significant amount of public and private investments into Wheeling. He said he hopes to continue the progress that is being made into transforming the city from what some were calling a "ghost town" into a community that is truly in the midst of its "rebirth."
Thalman outlined the many accomplishments he and his fellow council members have made over the past seven years to help contribute to and set the table for this new renaissance for Wheeling.
"We fought for our neighborhoods, and we've paved more streets and alleys in the last seven years than were paved in the previous 20 years," he said, noting that during his time in office, more than $10 million was invested in paving projects and demolition of neglected buildings that lowered property values and harbored crime. "As mayor, my commitment to maintaining our roads and getting rid of blight will not change."
Wheeling's revival can also be seen with the opening of the new, state-of-the-art police department headquarters and soon-to-open fire department headquarters - two major projects that were years in the making and were brought to fruition despite harsh public criticism that followed when the previous city council took action to fund them. The unpopular decision to implement a City Service Fee to fund these new public safety facilities was politically risky, Elliott noted, but he stressed the fact that Thalman was willing to put his seat on the line right before the last election to do what he felt was the right thing to do.
"When the police department moved into this space over the summer, they immediately went from having one of the worst police headquarters in the state to having the best," Thalman said, noting that the former police department had operated out of an inadequate 1959 facility that it had outgrown decades ago - and may have still been in there today had he and his colleagues not supported the City Service Fee.
"As your mayor, I will continue to make public safety a top priority," Thalman said.
"No other candidate who is currently running for mayor or who plans to run for mayor can take credit for more of what's gone on in the last seven-and-a-half years here in the city of Wheeling than Chad Thalman, period," Elliott said. "The past two city councils have put Wheeling on a trajectory that people across the state are really noticing. I hear this from mayors all over the place, 'you guys are killing it in Wheeling.' Chad's been a big piece of that - don't let anybody suggest that he hasn't been. His fingerprints are on every project we've done.
"We both ran for office because we were sick and tired of hearing people talking about Wheeling in the past tense."
Thalman said that if elected, he will continue to invest in streets and infrastructure, parks and public playgrounds, neighborhood investments and exploring innovative incentives to help bring new businesses to the city.
"I believe Wheeling should be 'open for business' not just as a slogan, but as an everyday reality," he said. "The momentum is being built, the investments are being made and the resilience of our community is on full display and setting us up on a trajectory toward a brighter future. Together, I'm hopeful we will continue to write the story of Wheeling's revival one chapter at a time."
Wheeling's seat for mayor - along with the other six seats on council - will be up for grabs in next year's municipal election. The current city council terms end on June 30.
So far, two other candidates have announced their campaigns in the Wheeling mayoral race. Longtime former executive director of the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority Denny Magruder in June became the first person to announce his candidacy in the mayor's race. In September, Ward 3 Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum officially launched her campaign to become the city's next mayor.
Thalman, a lifelong resident of Wheeling, is vice president of Warwood Armature. He is a graduate of Central Catholic High School, has a bachelor's degree from West Virginia University and has an MBA degree from Wheeling Jesuit University.