Rick Woodyard

PARKERSBURG – Three Republicans are running for the nomination for Wood County commissioner in the May 12 primary.

Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard, Jerrod Lee Gard and Greg Brannon are vying for the seat on the commission in District C. Commissioner Robert Tebay held the seat for years and retired in March. Retired educator Jim Hamric was appointed to complete the term through the end of the year.

No Democrats have filed to run for the seat, according to the Wood County Clerk’s Office website.

Woodyard, 67, has had a long career in law enforcement and served as the Wood County 911 director prior to being appointed sheriff after the retirement of Steve Stephens in 2021. He was elected to complete the unexpired term in 2022 and to a full term in 2024.

“I’m running for county commissioner to continue supporting the community I’ve dedicated my life to serving,” Woodyard said. “Throughout my years in law enforcement, I’ve worked on the front lines of real problems protecting families, responding to crises and making decisions with no room for hesitation.

Jerrod Lee Gard

“That experience has given me a broader perspective on the challenges our county faces and what it takes to address them.”

Woodyard said his experiences have made him a problem solver who does things the right way. He said he is not a career politician and doesn’t pretend to have all the answers.

His priorities are maintaining infrastructure, supporting local businesses and jobs, backing first responders and making sure people’s tax dollars are handled responsibly. He said he believes government should be open and straightforward, as trust is important and earned through honesty and consistency.

“I do know how to listen, assess situations carefully and make tough decisions when it counts,” he said. “When something needs done, I don’t look the other way, I step up and take responsibility. No nonsense, no wasted time, just getting things done.

“Like a lot of folks here, I know what it means to earn a living, take care of family, and push through tough times.”

Greg Brannon

Jerrod Lee Gard, 48, is an electrician for Chemours and manages rental properties.

His priorities are bringing businesses and jobs to the area.

“Over the years, I have watched businesses leave the area heavily,” he said. “I have children who are starting to enter the workforce.

“I would like to help bring more manufacturing and other jobs back to the area.”

Gard would also like to work on redeveloping some of the dilapidated properties in the area to help bring in new businesses, create jobs and expand the local tax base.

“There are also a number of properties around the area that need to be cleaned up which have really been neglected over the years,” he said.

One property he would like to see redeveloped is the site of the old Ames plant which was destroyed by a fire in October 2017.

“It would be nice to get businesses to occupy some of these properties that are vacant,” Gard said.

He knows a number of business owners in the area and has been talking to them about their needs and what they need to be able to grow their businesses. He also wants to have a diverse workforce with people of many skill sets.

“I see a lot of opportunity if we would act on it,” Gard said. “We have a lot of people who leave the area.”

His daughter recently completed college and he wants her to have opportunities in this area.

“I hope I can make a difference,” Gard said. “I am just trying to make things better for everyone.”

Brannon, 55, is retired from the U.S. Army, returned to the area in 2015 and started Oldham Sugar Works, an agriculture business after buying his great-grandparents’ farm on Robinhood Road near Belleville. He is a 1989 graduate of Parkersburg South High School, where he was a successful cross country runner. He had enlistments in the Air Force (1990), Navy (1999) and Army (2007) and was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm and later to Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked as a sheet metal and corrosion technician in the Air Force, trained to be a naval flight officer aboard E-2C Hawkeyes before breaking his foot in a parachuting accident, and served as a brigade budget officer for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade where he was in charge of an $80 million budget in the Army.

He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 1999 bachelor of science in biology with a minor in chemistry.

“I wanted to get involved in the community in some way,” he said of why he’s running for the commission.

He said he wants to create a county ambulance service similar to the area’s County Fire Service; create a sheriff’s volunteer auxiliary made up of honorably discharged military veteran landowners to support the sheriff in times of emergencies; and create a position for a county emergency veterinarian so people won’t have to rush their pets to Charleston or Columbus in an emergency.

He also wants to work to build a prison so the county doesn’t need to ship their convicts to a regional jail; improve the Veteran’s Park with static displays; work with the airport director to improve services and create aircraft manufacturing at the Mid- Ohio Valley Regional Airport; and improve utility services, particularly electric production and infrastructure for businesses and homes.

“As a young adult, I had to leave the Wood County area for work and school, so if there is an overarching theme to my campaign and potential term of service, it is to create conditions so our young high school and college graduates can find meaningful work here and create families who will stay and live in the area,” Brannon said.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com