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MOUNDSVILLE - A tight election saw incumbent Marshall County Commissioner John Gruzinskas retain his seat against challenger Scott Wolfe by fewer than 200 votes.
Unofficial tallies Tuesday night saw Gruzinskas receive 4,686 votes, or 50.70%, with Scott Wolfe receiving 4,551, or 49.24%. Gruzinskas was running on the Democratic ticket, while Wolfe ran as a Republican.
"The seat I'm sitting in doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the county," Gruzinskas said, recalling a conversation he'd had with Wolfe just after the final tallies were announced. "They saw fit to return me to do the county's work, so it's time to roll up the sleeves and get to it."
Gruzinskas has sat on the county commission since 2016. Prior to his career on the commission, he had retired from the West Virginia State Police with 25 years of service before being elected sheriff twice, in 2004 and 2008. As sheriff, Gruzinskas was appointed twice as one of five of West Virginia's 55 county sheriffs to serve on the Governor's Sheriff's Bureau.
Of his term ahead, Gruzinskas said the commission's focus was on infrastructure needs, such as modernizing and renovating the county's water and sewer lines, as well as ensuring that the county's offices remain funded.