Shapiro joins incumbents on Wheeling village board

Wheeling voters re-elected incumbent village trustees Dean Argiris and Kenneth Brady and added newcomer Stuart Shapiro for three 4-year board terms Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Write-in votes for Charles Vallas, who was thrown off the ballot after Argiris and Shapiro challenged his village trustee petitions, won't be available until later.

Argiris, 50, a mortgage and insurance broker and Wheeling's acting village president, briefly flirted with the idea of running for that post but later withdrew.

"I worked hard, and I think the people realized that," Argiris said, adding, "We got the right people in."

He promised a team effort from the village board. "We're going to sit down and run this place like a business."

Shapiro, 53, a health insurance company employee who ran unsuccessfully for village board twice before, served on the Wheeling plan commission for six years, and on the village zoning board for five years.

"It's all about serving the community, and I'm looking forward to being able to serve my neighbors in the Village of Wheeling. I'll bring fresh eyes and some fresh perspectives," Shapiro said.

Brady, 67, a retired construction project manager, served on the village plan commission for 18 years.

"We have a tough row to hoe. But now that we have a team on board and we're all going to face in the same direction, I think it's going to go a little smoother," he said.

Horcher, 74, who owns the Horcher family farm in town, has been a trustee since 2001.

During the campaign, Argiris, Brady, Horcher and Shapiro agreed that attracting new businesses, promoting existing ones and curbing spending should be top priorities for the next village board.

Though not to the same degree as some of its neighbors, Wheeling is starting to feel the trickle down effects of a national economic crisis.

The village is looking at a $1.6 million deficit in its 2009 budget and isn't filling any staff vacancies. Officials say they raised the property tax levy by 6.2 percent this year because revenues are down and expenses, especially for pensions, are up.

The trustee candidates agreed the village needs to prepare for when the economy improves and development projects surface by upgrading the village's infrastructure.