WEIRTON — This year’s election for Weirton mayor has the potential for historical results, with two of the four candidates possibly becoming the first individual to hold the office for three terms, and another to be the first woman to occupy the post.

The field includes current Mayor Harold “Bubba” Miller, current Ward 5 Councilmember Flora Perrone, former Mayor Dean Harris, and resident George Village, who previously faced off against Miller in the 2019 mayoral election.

Miller currently is in his second term as mayor, being first elected in 2015. He previously served as a member of city council, representing Ward 2.

“Since a young age, I realized the importance of being involved in public service and in organizations that will better our community,” he said. “I love Weirton and the surrounding communities and consider myself blessed to live here.”

He is married with three adult children and numerous grandchildren, all of whom still live in the area, and points to the unique qualities of Weirton as inspiration to continue his service.

“It is a community of diverse, hard-working, creative, and kind people. Weirtonians step up and help their fellow neighbor when needed,” Miller said. “As a person raised here and whose family and grandchildren still live here, I want to do my best to make Weirton a better place so they can also raise their families in this beautiful City I love. I want to use my combined experience from Weirton Steel, being a business owner, a Councilman for eight years, and Mayor for nine years to ensure Weirton has a bright future for generations to come.

If re-elected, Miller said he would like to focus on transportation, with an eye on expanding the services of Weirton Transit to the Pittsburgh International Airport and Robinson Township, Pa., as well as develop better communication with the West Virginia Division of Highways and other municipalities to address traffic concerns in the region.

Dilapidated structures in the city also are an issue he would like to address.

“Improvements to the procedure used to clean up vacant buildings, abandoned vehicles, junk, and debris to beautify our neighborhoods is needed,” he said. “Doing so would make Weirton more appealing to homeowners and businesses.”

Those efforts, Miller feels, will help to make the city more attractive to business, adding he also wants to assist in making the process of establishing a business in the city easier.

“The City currently has a great rapport with the County Sheriffs, EMS, and Commissioners,” Miller said. “Mayors from local municipalities meet with the Hancock County Commission to discuss issues, concerns, and projects. It is important we support one another to make substantial progress for our future.”

Miller points to several developments which have taken place during his tenure, including Park Drive, Three Springs Crossing, the Big Lots Plaza, Pietro Fiorentini, Bidell Gas Compression and Form Energy, as well as the work of the city’s utility boards to invest in upgrades to their systems.

“If elected, I will continue to work with businesses, developers, and investors,” he said. “We need to make Weirton appealing by providing adequate and affordable housing, upgrading our parks, and rejuvenating Main Street. One of my passions as a public servant is to bring Main Street back to its former glory by fixing deplorable buildings and attracting new businesses.”

Outside of politics, Miller has been a member of the Weirton Jaycees, served on the Community Bread Basket Board, chaired Renaissance Weirton and now serves on the Weirton Festival Committee. He and his wife also owned numerous businesses in the city.

Perrone is completing her first term on city council, where she currently represents the city’s Fifth Ward. She is the daughter of Bernard and Mary Rice, a 1990 graduate of Weir High School, has been married to Michael Perrone for 30 years and is the mother of three daughters. She has a 32-year career in healthcare and worked as a nurse for 14 years.

“When my oldest two daughters left for college, I felt that it was my time to give back to the community that had been a wonderful place to raise my children,” Perrone said. “After five years serving as councilwoman for Ward 5, I believe I have the experience to build the future of our city.”

If elected mayor, Perrone she wants to provide a focus on safety in the city, with more training, specialization and educational opportunities for first responders, improve maintenance of city roadways and work more closely with state agencies to bring more resources to state-owned roads.

“The work I’ve done with saving our transit system and updating the traffic light on Marland Heights has given me experience and contacts at local, state and federal levels to leverage towards improvements,” she said.

She also notes a need to work on improving the city’s visual appeal, beginning at the primary entrances of the city and extending to overall cleanliness and maintenance of Weirton, improve the city’s legacy recreational attractions – including the parks and the Panhandle Trail – through increased investments in parks and recreation, and engaging with community partners.

She also wants to see continued growth in the city’s transit system.

“By connecting our transit system to other transit in the area, we will be able to expand the length and frequency of routes,” Perrone said. “As well as, working with the multiple community resources that currently exist and supporting them to increase the safety net that is available within our city.”

Perrone said, as mayor, she wants to serve as a liaison between council and the city administration to help streamline processes to encourage business and residential growth, as well as work with those entities tasked with bringing development to the community to “identify barriers and remove as many as possible while maintaining safety for the community.”

Through her time on council, Perrone has served on the Weirton Transit Corp. Board of Trustees, on the board of directors for the Business Development Corp., the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, and has been an ex-officio member of the Weirton Area Water Board. Outside of politics, she currently is vice president of the Rotary Club of Weirton Heights, has been active with the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce, taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and organized many children’s Christmas programs.

“However, raising my children has been my greatest achievements of my life and they will always be what I’m most grateful for and proud of no matter what accomplishments are in my future,” she said.

Harris previously served as the city’s mayor from 1995 to 2003, and before that held the post of Ward 5 councilman for one term. He is a graduate of Weir High, the father of two – Jessica and Drew – and grandfather of three. He retired from Cleveland Cliffs after 48 years, is a former board member and president of the West Virginia Municipal League, a former member of the National League of Cities, is active in the AHEPA Lodge 103, coached youth basketball with the Weirton Termite Assocation and is a founding member of the Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Economic Region.

“I believe that public service to your community is an important part of being part of a community,” Harris said. “I think that being a part of city government is a way for me to give back to the community that I have called home for my entire life.”

Recognizing financial limitations of many of the city’s residents, Harris said, if elected, he wants to create a committee – with representation from the city, the Chamber of Commerce, members of the local senior community, and a representative of the United Steelworkers Local 2911 – to look at ways to ease financial burdens of residents and businesses.

Beautification also will be a major focus, he said.

“As I have campaigned throughout our city, the universal complaint I have heard was the unkempt properties that exist in all of our neighborhoods,” he said. “I will propose creating a housing court to replace the current Code Enforcement Committee. This will enable the city to take immediate legal action against violators of our city codes. We will also take action against the dilapidated structures along our business district.”

Recreational investment is a necessity in the city, Harris added.

“Recreational opportunities for residents of all ages is essential in a redeveloping community,” he said. “We will complete the paving of the Panhandle Trail, make improvements to the Millsop Community Center and fund improvements to Starvaggi Park and Marland Heights Park.”

Cooperation among other municipal and county governments is “essential” to the redevelopment of the area, he said, noting it can best be accomplished through meeting and discussing the needs of each community, county and state, and finding ways to work together to meet those needs.

“Government’s role in residential and economic growth is to create the environment for growth,” Harris said. “Included in our role is to provide our community with top-notch public safety. We are considered one of the safest cities in the state of West Virginia. We will continue that record by providing the best equipment and training for our police and fire personnel.”

Outside of his career in politics, Harris has volunteered in the kitchen of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church for the community Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and served as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army.

Village is a lifelong resident of the city and was a third-generation steelworker and former business owner with Village Automotive Service, who also previously sought to represent the area in the West Virginia Senate.

“This is my second attempt of running for Mayor,” Village said. “Weirton needs new leadership.”

Village said he wants to focus on “ending the oppressive home rule” as well as re-establishing a youth center within the Millsop Community Center and making city services more user friendly.

He seeks to cut through the red tape to attract business, claiming to already have been reaching out to potential investors.

“I’m actively seeking a buyer for the Cleveland Cliffs Weirton facility and currently seeking to bring a steel foundry to Weirton to provide castings for the oil, gas and mining industry,” he said.

Looking at cooperative efforts between the communities, Village said Weirton already has “good cooperation with Hancock County.”

Early voting is under way through Nov. 2, with voters able to cast their ballots Monday through Saturday at their county courthouse. Election day will be observed Nov. 5.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)