zNewsletter Sunday

Magruder Eager To Lay Groundwork for Wheeling’s Next

WHEELING - With the election in the rearview mirror and the oath of office more than a month away, Wheeling’s next mayor is shifting gears during this transitional period before the new city council takes the wheel to drive the Friendly City forward into its next chapter.

Denny Magruder came out of Tuesday’s municipal election with a clear victory, taking more than 36% of the vote in a crowded six-way race for the mayor’s seat. He was the first candidate to throw his hat in the ring last year with hopes of becoming the city’s next mayor. Magruder announced those intentions in June of 2023, making the campaign trail a long one that finally ended in victory on Tuesday of this past week.

Now that the summit has been reached on that initial goal, the rest of the journey still lies ahead.

Things are just starting to slow down in this grace period between the election and the end of the current council’s term on June 30. The figurative post-election confetti of this week is finally settling, he indicated.

"It’s been a whirlwind," Magruder said on Friday. "It’s been a lot of talking to friends and to the media. A lot of people have been reaching out. For the first time in two months, I returned to the Wellness Center this morning."

Magruder, 76, said he’s just been trying to stay in shape, and although his busy election season routine often saw him bypassing the gym, he had been getting his fair share of exercise by going door-to-door over the past several months during his campaign. He had 10,000 door hangers made, and he said he only has somewhere around 3,000 left - meaning he knocked on around 7,000 doors.

"We really went to the furthest reaches of the city," Magruder said.

Over the course of the next month and a half before the swearing-in ceremony, Magruder said he intends to make some time to unwind and decompress a bit. But he also plans to continue knocking on doors - not to reach voters and to solicit support for his campaign this time, but instead to reach out to local businesses to solicit input on what he said he wants to be a collaborative effort to guide Wheeling into the future.

Magruder wants to build a team and bring people together - something he’s done professionally throughout his career from his early days working in finance to his many years serving as the executive director of the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority and its two marquee venues in the city - WesBanco Arena and the Capitol Theatre.

He also has vowed to work collaboratively with the other five candidates who also ran for the mayor’s seat. Although he won a decisive victory on election day, the numbers do show that around 63% of the voters who cast ballots did not vote for him in the mayor’s race.

"As we move forward over the next four to eight weeks, I need to figure out how to bring them in and how to make sure they’re part of this and that they’re bringing their constituents," Magruder said of the other mayoral candidates, to whom he has already begun to reach out. "The only way that the city can really move forward is if that other 63% becomes part of a unified front that says ‘we’re going to get things done.’"

And in this arena, that will involve a willingness to compromise, Magruder said, noting that in order to truly build a team and bring people together, there has to be flexibility to do things in different ways than you may initially want in order to accomplish common goals.

Unlike a lot of newcomers to municipal public service, Magruder has had dealings with the city throughout the course of his career, a part of his resume that he considers to be "invaluable" as he takes the gavel as mayor this summer to begin a four-year term.

"It’s invaluable not only from a policy point of view, but from a personnel point of view," he said.

Magruder noted that he has worked with Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron over the years and has built a great relationship with him.

"I’ve had the utmost respect for Bob Herron," Magruder said. "We’ve not always agreed on everything - in fact we’ve had some knock-down, drag-out confrontations behind closed doors years ago. But Bob is a brilliant city manager."

Magruder credited Herron for helping to develop WesBanco Arena into what it is today - a top-notch destination venue and a great asset for the city. Magruder said Herron knew how to get the bonding package done for the arena, had the respect of people in the bond market, understands TIF financing, and works well with the movers and shakers.

In recent years, Magruder indicated that he had begun to hear that the city’s connections and respect from key players in certain areas had been deteriorating, and this partially fueled his motivation to run for mayor.

"I heard some unhappiness and saw some of the breakdown in communication, particularly with the state," he said. "So I threw my hat in the ring, and people supported me."

Not only did friends and family members encourage him, they offered sound advice.

"Nick Sparachane said ‘if you’re going to do it, file early,’" Magruder said of the former Wheeling mayor. "He said ‘if you made up your mind you want to run, and then you have some other really close friends or chief business associate enter the race first, then you’ll muddy the water if you come in afterward. So announce first.’ I did that on the advice of people who have been there."

Magruder has now been retired for a couple of years. When he stepped down from the GWSEA, he said it was simply time to step away and time for someone new to come in with fresh ideas and a new perspective and approach.

But the contacts and the experience he gained by working closely with public officials over those years taught him a lot about city and state government.

"I’ve been associated with government techniques for a lifetime, really," he said. "I’ve seen city government from many different angles. And that’s what led me, I think, to see that maybe I’d like to do this. I honestly never dreamt of it - the day I retired, I did not have a clue that I would want to run for council or for mayor."

That has all changed. In his forthcoming role as mayor, Magruder said he still intends to hold the annual State of the City address, but may look at the timing of when it is held during the year.

Another routine that he would like to maintain - despite hearing some protests about it on the campaign trail - was the rule to allow only three minutes during council meetings for members of the public to speak. Although he indicated that this is needed to maintain order and efficiency, he said his intention is to allow citizens to address their concerns and have a conversation with him sometime after the meeting ... with no set time limits.

Magruder said he hoped to take a look at the city’s boards and commissions, review attendance policies and work to "energize" the volunteer panels by making sure people who are appointed to serve truly want to do so.

"When I have the power of appointment, I want to attempt to appoint the best people available with a diverse background," Magruder said, noting that appointees should not only be demographically diverse, but also diverse ideologically. "I think our programs are going to be inclusive."

After he takes office, Magruder will also have to appoint a new vice mayor, and he said it likely will be one of the incumbent, veteran members.

"I really want to try to build consensus early," he said. "I want the council to feel like we’re a team. I want to start with the elected council members and beyond."

Sometime between this month and July, Magruder said he hoped to meet with all of the members of the incoming council before they are restricted by open-meeting rules.

"I’d like to sit down with these other council people and talk about each other," he said. "Let’s not talk about the city for an hour and a half. Let’s talk about us."

Magruder said he wanted to learn about everyone’s hobbies, interests, families, where they like to go for vacation and other aspects of their lives and their personalities.

"I want to leave that room with us all feeling like we know each other better and have a better understanding of who we are," Magruder said. "That’s going to help us deal with issues."

He and the other two incoming council members should also do the same with city staff before taking office, Magruder noted, and it’s a practice that should be extended to the community.

"I think friendships do promote business," he said.

Magruder is big on financial accountability, fiscal responsibility and professional development, crediting his growth and success to his longtime involvement with peer workshops and developmental programs during his tenure in the entertainment venue industry.

"If you want to be the best, you go where the best are," he said, noting that the best players will need to be in the game.

There are tough issues ahead for the city, from economic development to infrastructure improvements and more.

"We’ve got to tackle this homeless issue," Magruder said, noting that the city has to have a strong working relationship with the local service agencies. "We’ve got to talk to people. My dream would be to see that camp get smaller and smaller."

Magruder also noted that the criminal elements in the homeless camps need to go.

"You can’t adversely impact the people around you," he said. "You’ve got to want help."

Building a team on city council and with the city as a whole is the most effective way for Wheeling to move forward and to ward off divisive, outside forces that may obstruct progress and create rifts in positive relationships. Magruder said the new council needs to pull the plug on anyone who may try to "steamroll the council" or "power play us" into juggling any political hot potatoes.

Magruder said he hopes the citizens, business owners and others will join the team as the new city council opens this new chapter.

"I promise you within the next four to five weeks, I’m going to be downtown a couple of times a week hitting two or three doors just asking people ‘Hey, how are you doing? What do you think? What are your thoughts? What are your dreams? What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong?’ Or just, ‘Hey, have a good day, and thanks for what you’ve done,’" he said.

"I want them to feel like they can talk to the city, and I represent the city. That element hasn’t existed for the last couple of years."