Withrow running for Ronceverte mayor
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
David Withrow was born in Ronceverte. While he was raised in Chestnut Flats in northern Greenbrier County, he’s been back in the River City for the last three-plus decades.
“My wife is from Rockland Road,” he says, “and I’ve worked at the cabinet shop (Architectural Wood) for 33 years as of January.”
Withrow and his wife have three children. In addition to his work, he coached youth football for many years. In 2013, Withrow ran for mayor against Gail White and David Smith. While he did not prevail in that election, he continued to hold an interest in serving the town and is now pursuing the job again.
“I’ve got all kinds of reasons I want to do it (run for office),” he says. “I want to make a difference.”
‘Blue-Collar Town’
“Part of the reason is to help out the city,” he reflects. “I think Ronceverte can be something.”
“My belief is it’s a blue-collar town. Always has been. It’s not a tourist town. We’ve had the railroad, Bendix, Greenbrier Technical Services, and the cabinet shop. It’s blue-collar.”
Withrow says he would prioritize issues such as getting drugs off the street, reducing water prices, and fixing roads.
“I have an idea that the current administration wants us to be Lewisburg,” he says. “That’s not my vision. I don’t think that’s what this town is. It’s not a tourist town.”
Development ideas
At the same time, Withrow says he wants to focus on a project that would “bring people down here.”
“I’d like to see a long-term plan where the old elementary school is. Put a swimming pool in there. It’s not about making money. If you can get a swimming pool and use the (revenues) to maintain it and have a reason for young people to come down, it would be great. Kids don’t want to be inside in the summer. You could put basketball courts up there. It’s out of the flood zone. That was one of the problems down at the island.”
He also would like to see additional opportunities at the Ronceverte Island Park. For example, he mentions food truck vendors around the splash pad and regular concerts at the amphitheater.
Downtown, Withrow would like to recruit a small grocery store and dental practice. “I think we need more storefronts,” he says. “It’s hard to get in with a dentist if you’re not established. Why couldn’t we get a dentist down here in town? Or a doctor’s office? We lost a lot of our doctors in the past. It would be great to get some back. Or a pharmacy. I don’t know why we can’t get some of that back.”
Communication is a stated key for Withrow. “If I was a mayor, I would want to inform everybody and get them an answer as quick(ly) as I could.”
For example, Withrow says while the city can’t do anything about rising electrical rates, he would like to invite the power companies to town for a forum so citizens could ask them questions and they could explain how rates are set.
And speaking of rates, Withrow wants to reduce water rates. How?
“We’ve got to do some swapping with Lewisburg. We take sewage from Maxwelton all the way down. Then we’ve gotta pay Lewisburg for water. Is that a fair deal? I’d like to be able to drop the rates. There’s things i don’t know, but if we could do that we could lower water bills. If not lower them, we could keep them from going higher.”
‘No warnings’
Another key issue for Withrow is the town’s “drug problem.”
“I would like to do something strong about that,” he says. “I’m talking no warnings.”
Withrow says as mayor he would focus on law enforcement, taking a different approach managing the town’s police force. “Me being over the police officers, I would say they need to be doing stings and investigating.”
Campaign Plans
Withrow says he hopes to see a large turnout this June. “Getting people out is gonna be a big thing. I hope people have faith in me.”
“I’m going door to door to get people to vote,” he says. “I get off work at 230pm, so I will hold up a sign downtown asking people to vote on Election Day. Hopefully that will help out.”
WIthrow says he likes the people of the town and enjoys talking to them. “My wife hates to go to the grocery store with me,” he jokes. “She says I talk to everybody.”
When he first ran in 2013, Withrow says he came in second and hopes the result will be different this time.
“I want to make a difference,” he pledges. “We can do some things here in Ronceverte. Then if this goes well, I may want to go to the next step and run for county commission.”
Ronceverte residents head to the polls on June 3 to elect a a mayor and city council members. Withrow will compete against Mayor Deena Pack, Kim Erskine, and Shawn Honaker. RealWV will host the candidates for a forum on May 27 in downtown Ronceverte at 7pm. Stay tuned for additional mayoral candidate profiles and details on the forum.
