(Letter to the Editor - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Let’s face it: The Parkersburg City government is broken. Our population is dwindling and has been for decades. Our city council is ineffective, having not accomplished anything of significance in years. The council is not doing anything substantive, including not even keeping the mayor accountable for his gaffes and blunders.

Our mayor is marginally competent, allowing our sanitation department to crumble and he’s not wise enough to fix it. He hasn’t brought ANY economic development to Parkersburg in his nine years in office. Our city charter was written in 1970 and hasn’t seen a significant change since.

It’s time for a change. We need a new, improved form of local government: a council-manager system with a professional manager to guide us. We need to form a commission to review and revise the charter and change our form of government into one that is progressive and accountable to the people, not one that doesn’t want to listen to the citizens and tries to do as little as they can to stay in office.

Let’s start 2026 off right. Begin the process of fixing our dysfunctional government. Bring ethics, integrity and honor back to Parkersburg. By the time Mayor Joyce leaves office, lets have a new charter in place, and a new council-manager form of government ready to begin making Parkersburg the wonderful, efficient, growth-oriented city it once was decades ago.

Russ Bowers

Parkersburg