(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the first in a series of profiles of candidates for the positions of mayor and city council of Keyser. The primary election is April 14.)
By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer
KEYSER — Only eight months into his first term as a member of the Keyser City Council, William “Sonny” Rhodes had no intention of running for mayor, until the current mayor stepped aside on the final filing day and declared himself a candidate for city council.
With only three hours to file the necessary paperwork and gather the required 10 signatures supporting his candidacy, Rhodes threw his hat into the ring literally at the last minute. He said he wanted to continue the forward momentum built by the mayor and city council since their swearing-in last summer.
“I felt we needed someone as honest and trustworthy as the current mayor,” Rhodes said of incumbent Mayor Glen “Bunk” Shumaker. “I felt I was that person.”
A retiree of the former Westvaco paper mill, Rhodes, 71, is active in the McCoole VFW, where he serves as vice president of the Men’s Auxilliary. He is also active in the leadership at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Keyser.
A 1955 graduate of Bruce High School in Westernport, Rhodes ran for the Keyser City Council two times prior to his successful bid last spring, when he was the top vote-getter.
Most recently, Rhodes has been in the news for spearheading the investigation into possible employee misconduct at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, where two employees are accused of conducting personal business on city time, using city water-testing laboratory equipment.
Rhodes and fellow councilman Dave Sowers visited other municipalities that had contracted with Keyser to perform tests on their water, only to discover that the other towns had paid in cash, with no record of a payment received by the city of Keyser.
“This was a concern of mine and Dave’s, we had been looking into it for a while,” Rhodes said. “There were many people who heard about it and didn’t do anything about it.”
Rhodes said he and Sowers have been both criticized and praised for the way they handled the lab-testing controversy, but he is comfortable with his role in bringing the matter to light.
“It’s almost like it was business as usual out there,” he said. “If I’m elected mayor, it’s not going to be business as usual. Honesty and integrity, that’s what I’m going to give the job as mayor.”
As a member of the Keyser City Council, Rhodes serves as water commissioner. Since taking office in July, he has lost count of the times he’s been on the scene with city crews fixing water leaks in Keyser’s aging distribution system.
“I didn’t realize our sewer and water lines were in such bad shape,” he said.
Rhodes supports many of Dave Sowers’ proposals for city government, including construction of a new city garage to replace the deteriorating facility across from the South End Park. The councilman said he “couldn’t be prouder” of the accomplishments of the city council over the past eight months. The same issues that motivated him to run for council compelled him to seek the mayor’s office.
“I was concerned about the city of Keyser and some of the things I’d heard were happening,” he said of his decision to seek office. “When Bunk decided not to run, I felt it was my obligation to step up and fill the shoes of the mayor.”
