Trending
WELLSBURG -- After serving nearly 12 years as mayor, Sue Simonetti has chosen not to seek re-election.
Simonetti said she announced her decision at Tuesday's council meeting to allow other residents time to consider if they would like to declare their candidacy for next year's election, when her position, the police chief and four council seats will be on ballots.
Following the meeting, Simonetti said she considered seeking a fourth term, noting if she won, she would be the first Wellsburg mayor to serve for that long, but felt it was time to let someone else serve.
"I've been considering it for a while. Twelve years is enough. It's time for me to step aside and let somebody with new ideas step in," she said.
The move will bring to an end many years of public service for Simonetti, who was secretary-treasurer for the city's water-sewer board for 22 years and city clerk for two years. She also has chaired the executive board of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission.
City Manager Steve Maguschak said, "She's devoted decades to this city. She's a very hard-working mayor."
Maguschak, who had served as Mingo Junction's police chief, likened her long tenure to that of the late John "Wiz" Fabian, a long-time mayor of the village.
"They dedicated much of their lives to the community," he said.
Maguschak added that Simonetti "is a wealth of knowledge and well known among state legislators and other officials."
He noted Simonetti was a vocal supporter of the Wellsburg-Brilliant Ohio River bridge currently under construction through times when plans for it seemed stagnant.
Maguschak said to this day she continues to push for widening of the intersection of state Routes 2 and 27 to address a safety hazard caused by the difficulty of large trucks in turning at the two two-lane sections of highway.
Simonetti noted she supported replacing a center median along the highway with a center turn lane. It was a move that wasn't popular with everyone but she felt was needed to improve safety.
Prior to that, there were a number of rear-end collisions caused by drivers stopping in the left through lane to turn onto side streets, she said.
Asked about projects in which she was proud, Simonetti said she was pleased to have secured state grant money to landscape Central Park and add benches and lighting to create a central area where visitors may sit.
State Sen. Ryan Weld, who also serves as the city's legal counsel, said Simonetti also established the city's urban redevelopment authority.
Weld, who was the volunteer board's first chairman, noted the group's efforts have resulted in the removal of abandoned and dilapidated buildings and while working with the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, the environmental remediation of the former Snyder Marathon lot, where construction of a new Traubert's Pharmacy has been initiated.
Weld noted he has seen Simonetti interact with state officials, council members and residents and has found her to be fair and open-minded with all.
He added, "I've always appreciated just how much she cares about the city."
A Beech Bottom native, Simonetti had attended Wellsburg High School and she and her husband John agreed they wanted to settle down and raise a family in Wellsburg.
"I really enjoyed this job and I love Wellsburg," she said, adding she has enjoyed serving the public in various capacities and working with three city managers and multiple council members and other city officials over the years.