CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — About four weeks after winning re-election to a second term on Clarksburg City Council, Mayor Cathy Goings became the first woman to ever be re-elected by the Clarksburg City Council for a second term as mayor.
Goings finished with the most votes among a crowded list of candidates, and called her unanimous re-election as mayor a historic honor Wednesday night.
“I really appreciate my fellow council members recognizing that it is very significant and historic for the city of Clarksburg, and I really appreciate their confidence in me serving as their mayor once again,” said Goings following Wednesday’s special meeting.
Goings said that the Clarksburg, currently undergoing a slew of projects to revitalize the downtown area, is heading into an exciting time in it’s history.
“We want to put the past behind us and move forward and take this city to heights that you’ve never seen before,” she said.
Perhaps the most significant of these projects is the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of the Robinson Grand Theatre, which remains several years away from completion.
Additionally, Clarksburg will have a new Vice-Mayor. Gary Bowden won re-election in June, but was not nominated to continue serving in that role. Instead, long-time Councilman Jim Malfregeot will assume those duties after a unanimous vote by Council. Malfregeot similarly believes exciting things are in store for Clarksburg in the not-so-distant future.
“People just have to be patient and give us a chance to get everything going, but the City of Clarksburg will be back as it was 20 years ago,” he said.
Malfregeot said he is looking forward to working with newcomer Chad Sigmon, who finished third in the voting in June behind incumbents Goings and Bowden–ousting long-time Councilwoman Margaret Bailey.
“We’ll sit and hash out everybody’s ideas and go from there,” he said.
Goings said this Council’s main goal will be to see the completion of the Robinson Grand Theatre (among other downtown projects) and hinted that the new Council could work on several joint projects with the City of Bridgeport, but did not specify what those may be.