About Wendell

Born July 1, 1954, the son of the late William and Sinclair Gilliard, Rep. Gilliard lives at 1237 Marvin Avenue in Charleston.  He has three children, April Sinclair, Wendell G., and Keith Demon, who attended local public schools.

Rep. Gilliard is the President of WGG Consulting. He was educated at Devry School of Technology, and Labor Organizing School, University of Tennessee. Retired from Albright & Wilson Chemical Plant for 28 years as a chemical plant operator, serving as United Steel Workers Local Union President for 15 years.

Being raised on the East side at 69 Harris Street is something that Representative Wendell Gilliard will always treasure. It was there that he was taught how to love, care, and respect others and to never forget from whence he came. These values were taught by his father, the late Mr. William Leroy Gilliard and his mother, the late Mrs. Mary Sinclair Gilliard. After his mother’s passing, when Representative Gilliard was nine years old, his father, who was a well-respected Master Barber and a strong figure, was left to raise the family the best he knew how. He taught Representative Gilliard to always reach for higher goals in life, not just for him, but to serve and help others as he passed along the way. On the East side, they didn’t tell each other “I have mine, now you go get yours!” It was expressed that “Here is some of mine, now let me show you how to share!”

After graduating from Rivers High School and attending Devry School of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, Representative Gilliard moved on to become a union and community organizer for the United Steel Workers of America at the chemical plant where he was employed. He also held an elected position as President of the local union (863) for fifteen years. These positions allowed Representative Gilliard to travel around the country organizing private businesses that wanted union representation.

After talking to various community leaders who knew Representative Gilliard, he decided to run for public office. His eleven years of service on the Charleston City Council gave him a tremendous opportunity to take action on the important issues facing the wonderful people that live in District 111.  He is deeply concerned about the issues of jobs, education and health care that faced so many people on a daily basis and he believed that new leadership was needed for those issues to be addressed. 

Representative Gilliard contributes his desire to run for office to the influence of some key people: His father and mother, Mr. Isaiah Bennett, Mrs. Miriam Bacote, Mrs. Maranda Holmes, Rev. Fred Dawson, and Mrs. Septima P. Clark. These role models served as the inspiration for Wendell both yesterday and today.