Don Myers (R), Anthony Shea (D), Pat Fabian (D), and Jason Renshaw (R) want your vote in next Tuesday’s election for Armstrong County Commissioner.
A recent poll in the Kittanning Paper showed seven percent of nearly 1,000 respondents were still undecided on who to vote for in the race for county commissioner. An informal questioning of general the population showed 28% could not remember the names of any of the commissioners. Another 32% could remember the name of one current commissioner.
This is disturbing considering the amount of money spent on signs to capture name recognition. The most signs award goes to incumbent Pat Fabian. Rather than going for size, he has opted to go for quantity, putting up smaller signs everywhere. Incumbent Jason Renshaw has a mix of large and small signs, while political newcomer Don Myers has seemed to think the bigger, the better. Anthony Shea has opted for multiple types of direct mail to personalize his message with a smattering of smaller signs.
The most visible candidate awards go to Fabian and Shea. They have been at nearly every event around the county over the past five months. The third award would go to Renshaw who made his rounds, but his farm business in South Buffalo Township has kept him too busy to attend all community functions.
MYERS
Mr. Myers has been the least visible, perhaps counting on his academic network to put him over the top. He formerly was at Lenape Tech and owns a small business. We attempted to chit-chat about his background, but he chose not to give the Kittanning Paper an interview, and walked as fast as he could to his car to get away from being interviewed. That should concern any voter. If he is not willing to talk to a reporter that is also a voter, then one can only assume that if you aren’t on his friend list, he won’t be serving your interests as county commissioner. He stated during the Lenape debate that it was time for him to run for county office. Perhaps it is a good time to increase his retirement at taxpayer expense, or perhaps receive a better healthcare package. He also acknowledged the time restraints it takes to be in public office. How will he do that and maintain his business? Because these questions went unanswered, we cannot endorse his candidacy.
FABIAN
Mr. Fabian was elected four years ago and is finishing his first term as commissioner. He spent 16 years as a mental health therapist, which has probably come in handy in working in politics. He previously was a Manor Township supervisor for five years, which was a good precursor for learning municipal government.
The negative in his tenure as commissioner is that although he was commissioner chairman, he wasn’t in control of his office. For the first several years, Dan Lucovich served as the person who set the agenda for the county and its employees. At one point, under oath at a legal proceeding, Mr. Lucovich called himself the “fourth unelected commissioner” when describing his duties. Once Mr. Lucovich was no longer employed by the county, the commissioners faltered to develop a solid plan. During that time, tensions arose between other row offices. A law suit almost occurred between the commissioners and Controller Myra Miller. At one point, the commissioners were going to demolish the planning building. Then they didn’t. Then they abandoned Armsdale building and leased office space adjacent to the current administration building. The public is having a difficult time seeing a clear plan for the future.
RENSHAW
Mr. Renshaw entered politics with encouragement from his cousin, State Representative Jeff Pyle. He has worked on the family farm and has connected well with the agricultural community. At the last debate, he spoke of spending ten years of his life selling square hay bales making $40 but only have $3 left. Shortly after being elected four years ago as commissioner, he married his sweetheart. He has credited his life on the farm and family keeping his life in perspective as a commissioner.
However, Mr. Renshaw’s direct personality of saying things off the cuff has also cut him off from staffers and those he serves. That being stated, it is our opinion that Mr. Renshaw deeply does care about the county, but has spent four years dealing with his mistakes. He continues to be impetuous, evidenced by accidentally announcing the BC3 decision to come to Ford City at the Lenape debate.
The Health Center was sold by Fabian and Renshaw’s administration. There continues to be questions asked about the plans for the money they received from the sale. The Kittanning Paper sent a Right-To-Know, asking specifics about the current funds as well as plans for use, since the commissioners at the Lenape debate indicated they spent (or allocated – not sure which) on infrastructure and balancing the budget, although there is just over $3 million still invested. As of yesterday (the fifth day with no response), we still do not have answers to those questions.
SHEA
The final candidate, Mr. Shea, is retired military, serving from 1985-2008. He served as a patrolman, corrections guard, 9-1-1 dispatcher, and other military safety positions. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer science. Since the military, he has worked for BNY Mellon and currently works at UPMC as an engineer product manager. He serves his community by serving as vice-president of the Leechburg School District as well as serving on the Lenape Tech Joint Operating Committee.
Mr. Shea has been a commissioner candidate before. He announced his candidacy for this election over the past four years. He never stopped campaigning. He even distributed cards reminding people he would be running again in 2019. His enthusiasm is contagious as he is passionate about serving the voters of this county. He has a background in technology – something none of the other candidates have had. He has made more money in any given year than any of the other candidates and is familiar with larger budgets such as the two school systems he represents. We haven’t found anything in his approach that would be detrimental to his service as a commissioner.
It would take a book of encyclopedia proportions to fully explore all of the pros and cons of these candidates. The reason there are three commissioners is so that each one brings skills to the position that the other two do not have. You will be able to vote for two, but you do not have to vote for two. If you prefer to just vote for one, your vote will still be counted. The main thing is that you go to the polls and vote on Tuesday, November 5.