Robert Sheets, who died Tuesday at age 73, will be remembered for a lot of things in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
He served three terms on the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä City Council, from 2007-22, and came one vote away in the 2022 Ward 8 Democratic Party primary from serving a fourth.
By then, Sheets was well known for his hobbled gait, his long beard and his obsession with street lights. For going on 15 years, Sheets had been prodding for some kind of action on installing LED lighting downtown to not only save the city money on electricity, but also to better light up the city and allay some of the fears that parts of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä weren’t safe after dark.
There wasn’t much, politically or otherwise, that scared Sheets. In fact, in a statement Wednesday, ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Mayor Amy Goodwin called him “fearless.â€
Sheets was the only member of the City Council to vote against an ordinance that effectively killed best-practices harm reduction in 2021. He supported syringe exchange programs, to prevent the spread of hepatitis and HIV through sharing needles for drug use. At the time, ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä and Kanawha County were experiencing an HIV outbreak so bad that it had been labeled the “most concerning†in the nation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sheets did what he thought was right, even if he got outvoted, 25-1.
He referred to this in a 2022 Gazette-Mail candidate questionnaire, showing incredible empathy for those struggling with addiction and those who could contract a life-threatening disease because of it.
“Having served on the Board of Directors of the Living AIDS Memorial Garden for over 20 years, I know full well the stigma of HIV. Having tested negative myself I know full well the fear one has of getting the HIV test,†Sheets wrote. “It used to be that having HIV was a death sentence. Today there’s a lot that can be done to help people with HIV live a good life. In ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä and Kanawha County the problem is not so much sexually transmitted HIV, it is through the sharing of needles. This is the problem that has to be addressed.â€
Sheets also was involved in advocacy for the LGBTQ community in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä and founded the city’s annual Pride Picnic.
He wasn’t a loud voice on the City Council. In fact, when he spoke up about problems plaguing the city’s West Side, including the spread of disease through needles and the problem of needle litter, a Gazette-Mail reporter noted it as “a rare speech.â€
Sheets did plenty of talking through action and leadership, and he’ll be missed in the city he so tirelessly advocated for.
