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Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rare birth of a new city in Pennsylvania inches closer as voters pick a whole new council
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at STATE COLLEGE — When some residents of a rural Pennsylvania county go to the polls on May 20, they'll pick who they want to represent a city that doesn't yet exist. The City of DuBois and surrounding Sandy Township in Clearfield County will consolidate in January 2026 and become a new city, still called DuBois. The pairing is only the third such occurrence in Pennsylvania since a 1994 state law established the procedure for a municipal consolidation or merger. Before that happens, roughly 12,000 people will be eligible to pick seven city council members and a treasurer. The choice affects about 25% of the county's registered voters, Commissioner Dave Glass told radio station Connect FM. It took four attempts over several decades for voters to approve the consolidation, and a 2021 referendum passed with only 33 more yes than no votes in Sandy Township. As elected officials worked to combine the finances and services of the communities, a sweeping corruption scandal involving DuBois' former City Manager Herm Suplizio complicated the effort. Some residents began to doubt the city leadership and lost confidence in the merger. New city officials are tasked with unifying the two municipalities — both logistically and emotionally. Thirteen candidates — two Democrats and 11 Republicans — are running for council seats in the May 20 primary. Voters from each party can nominate seven candidates to advance to the November election, meaning the race will be contested on the Republican side. The top seven vote-getters in the general election will become council members for the new city. 'I do get the impression that people are tuned into it,' Ben Kafferlin, manager for both municipalities, told Spotlight PA. The rare chance to elect a whole new slate of a governing board is driving voter interest, he said. No candidate is running for the city treasurer's office, which is an important position that sets policy relating to how finances are handled. If no one is elected, the new city council will appoint the position. Kafferlin said he hopes a candidate might emerge before November so voters can have a say at the ballot box. Voters from both communities initiated and approved a referendum in 2021, setting the consolidation in motion. Gerald Cross is a local government researcher and author of a Pennsylvania Economy League report that recommended the consolidation of DuBois and Sandy before the referendum. He said leaders of the new city should be people who recognize and are prepared for the unique charge they will face. 'They'll have to understand that it isn't business as usual any longer,' Cross said. The new city council will need to hit the ground running after their election, because the consolidation 'won't just end at that January moment in time,' Kafferlin told Spotlight PA. Reorganizing staffing, negotiating union agreements, managing the budget and accounts, and passing a new set of ordinances for the city are among the myriad tasks that new leaders will be responsible for. Experience and knowledge of local government operations will be important, Cross said, but new leadership that is not attached to the previous municipalities could also benefit the new DuBois. Nine of the 13 city council candidates running in the primary have held elected or appointed positions in either DuBois or Sandy Township as Republicans: J Barry Abbott Sr., Sandy Township supervisor Randy A Beers, deputy fire chief of the West Sandy Hose Company William A Beers Jr., Sandy Township supervisor Blaine David Clark, former DuBois police chief Samuel J Mollica III, Sandy Township supervisor Duane Patrick Reasinger, DuBois mayor and council president Mark T Sullivan, Sandy Township supervisor David Alan Volpe, DuBois city controller Richard A Whitaker, Sandy Township supervisor None of these candidates held a role of authority over Suplizio when he was city manager. Other candidates include Democrats Melissa G Keen and Michael J Piccirillo, and Republicans Shirley M Dahrouge and Devon Duane Vallies. After the corruption allegations against Suplizio came out, Sandy Township sued to put a pause on the consolidation, a scenario not explicitly addressed by Pennsylvania law. Township supervisors voted unanimously to terminate the lawsuit last year, after the city began a forensic audit aimed at straightening up questions surrounding its finances. Since then, officials from both municipalities have proceeded with the union in what DuBois Council Member Elliot Gelfand previously called 'an unprecedented period of cooperation leading up to formal consolidation.' The official unification of the two communities next year will represent 'a significant milestone in our region's history,' Reasinger and Sullivan wrote in a letter to the White House last month, inviting President Donald Trump to a celebration in 2026. 'After years of careful planning and cooperation, the consolidation of DuBois City and Sandy Township into a single, unified City will bring new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and unity,' the letter said. 'We believe this moment is worthy of national recognition, and your presence would make the occasion even more memorable for our residents and local leaders.' Cross said he believes voters were right to choose consolidation and that they will see the benefits of it in due time. 'The citizens owe the new government patience, [and] the new elected officials owe the new government patience,' he told Spotlight PA. 'You got to give the plant time to blossom before you pick the fruit. And that takes a season.' and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More money for agriculture innovation pitched by Shapiro after high demand
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at BELLEFONTE — The Shapiro administration wants to double the amount of money Pennsylvania spends on its Agricultural Innovation Grant program, proposing $23 million to support new technologies and conservation projects. The grant program — established in last year's state budget — reimburses farmers and other businesses that update their operations to be more efficient and environmentally friendly. The state Department of Agriculture distributed all $10 million earmarked for the initial run. As Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro seeks to expand the program's reach, some Republicans are questioning the administration's fiscal priorities amid a long-running structural deficit. They also worry about whether there will be a meaningful return on investment. The state received more than $68 million in funding requests from 159 applicants for the program's inaugural round, and awarded 88 businesses and farms across 45 counties. Projects included new refrigeration, precision technology, automatic harvesting systems, milking robots, and composting initiatives. Mark Gagnon, an agribusiness management professor at Penn State, told Spotlight PA he was impressed with the 'array of investments' made by the grant program. 'I think it's good to thoughtfully try some new approaches, and often, when I think about it with entrepreneurship, education, and innovation, it's this idea of disciplined experimentation,' he said. 'And if we keep doing the same thing, we're not going to lever out the results or have some more impactful results. So, I think that building a mechanism like this — I'm just going to be fascinated to see where it goes.' State Rep. Paul Takac (D., Centre), who sponsored the underlying bill that created the grant program, told Spotlight PA that the effort helps meet the sector's needs. 'The fact that there were $68 million in grant applications in year one shows that this is the kind of investment that will pay dividends for years and years to come,' Takac said. 'So, I do think that it's very much in line with what we should be investing in our future and especially in our rural communities.' That demand is central to the Shapiro administration's budget proposal, which argues that additional investment could improve Pennsylvania's agriculture industry and boost the state's economy. Shapiro has also pitched using $2 million to assess a pilot program that would create county-based digesters to generate electricity. Under Shapiro's proposed budget, state spending on innovative agricultural practices would total $25 million. Brubaker Farms, in Lancaster County, received a $400,000 grant for a project that will create renewable energy from manure. Owner and manager Josh Brubaker said during a news conference that the money builds on existing efforts to make the business more sustainable and operating for years to come. In Adams County, Rice Fruit Company was awarded $130,000 to help pay for a robotic bin-tipper system to pack apples for sale. Valerie Ramsburg, who manages marketing for the operation, previously told Spotlight PA the upgrade will increase capacity, improve quality, and reduce wastewater. 'With the rising costs of farming and providing food for people, the support of our leaders is paramount,' Ramsburg said in February. 'When farmers are able to make the most of new technologies, the efficiencies and benefits are passed on to consumers and Pennsylvania communities and help to maintain the rural atmosphere much of the Keystone State enjoys.' Some Republican lawmakers, however, have called for a closer look at how grant recipients are chosen, how outcomes are measured, and whether the benefits justify the investment. 'We really have to look at this ag innovation because it's not helping Pennsylvania farmers,' state Rep. Eric Nelson (R., Westmoreland) said during a February legislative budget hearing. 'It seems to be helping a hundred hand-selected farmers.' Nelson pointed to just how many farms there are in Pennsylvania as a whole, saying the number of grants might not be cause for celebration. According to federal data, the state has about 49,000 farms. 'It looks to be a program that's picking winners and losers,' Nelson told longtime Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding. State Reps. Jamie Barton (R., Schuylkill) and Torren Ecker (R., Adams) questioned the application review process, hoping to understand how the decision process works and who's involved. Still, Ecker said he'd support Shapiro's investment pitch. He told Spotlight PA that the innovation grant program helps 'prop up' Pennsylvania's agriculture industry. Meanwhile, state Rep. Dan Moul (R., Adams) asked the agriculture department to invite the state House and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee chairs to join conversations about funding requests. He also questioned several Pittsburgh-based grant recipients. 'We don't have too many farms in the cities, so basically, I think what we're talking about there is gardening,' Moul said. 'And it's OK. I have no problem with gardening, but we should be — in my opinion — we should be, if I was on the committee, I would be saying let's gear our money toward something that can produce a lot of food on a little bit of land and help these guys with harvesting, new innovations, but not gardens in the inner city.' Redding has pushed back on criticism of the grant program, testifying before lawmakers that his department has 'worked our tail off' to support the agriculture industry. While he was open to discussing how to include lawmakers in grant request discussions, he also emphasized that an internal team helped evaluate applications — 'not a single person or a single bureau.' 'There is nothing to hide,' Redding told state House lawmakers. 'If somebody wants to take the time to go through that and look at it and look at the match requirements and check that against what we set out as the requirements for eligibility, they're certainly welcome to do that.' The rubric used by the team of individuals that reviewed funding applications — which Spotlight PA obtained through an open records request — scored proposals on their alignment with the grant program's mission and innovation principles, metrics for success, expected regional impacts, and budgeting. Projects that received funds in the first round must be completed by June 27, 2027. The state agriculture department will release an impact report at the end of the two-year cycle, a spokesperson told Spotlight PA. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pa. primary election 2025: A complete guide to the candidates for State College school board
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at STATE COLLEGE — Democrats and Republicans in the State College Area School District will have seven board of directors candidates to choose from in the May 20 primary. About 95,000 people live in the Centre County school district, according to 2020 U.S. census data. It educates just over 6,700 students, per the latest enrollment data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Almost 700 professional staff members work for the district. Four seats on the nine-member board are up for grabs. Two incumbents — Deborah Anderson and Jackie Huff — are running for another four-year term. They'll be joined on the ballot by newcomers Jesse Barlow, Jennifer A. Black, Rebecca Arnold Desmarais, Kirsten McTernan and Mihaly Sogor. Each candidate is cross-filed, which means they will be listed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. The state Election Code permits school board candidates to do so; the practice ups their chances of advancing to the general election. Democrats and Republicans will each select four of the seven candidates on their primary ballots. The top four vote-getters from each partisan primary will appear as the parties' nominees on the general election ballot in November, Centre County Director of Elections Melanie Bailey told Spotlight PA in an email. If a candidate wins in both parties' May contests, they will appear as both a Democratic and a Republican nominee in the fall. Pennsylvania has a closed primary system, which means that unaffiliated and third-party voters can't vote for candidates during spring contests unless they change their registration. All registered voters can cast ballots in November. This guide may be updated as additional information about the candidates becomes available. Pennsylvania's 500 school districts are governed by boards. Members of each school board — generally consisting of nine directors who are elected for four years each — are responsible for the functions of public education. Adults who have lived in their district for at least one year can hold office on school boards, provided that they do not hold another municipal office, have never been convicted of certain crimes or are barred under state or federal laws. Upon election or appointment, school directors go through trainings required by state law. Nearly 4,500 individuals serve as school board members in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. School boards adopt and manage budgets, levy local taxes, adopt instruction plans, approve hiring and appoint a district superintendent to manage day-to-day operations. A school district's overall mission and strategy are dependent on school board members. Anderson, a registered Democrat as of September 2024, was first elected in 2021 and currently serves as vice president of the board. Anderson told Spotlight PA that her years of active involvement in the school district as a volunteer, parent and later as board member set her apart from others. Anderson's first priority if reelected is to offer all students a challenging curriculum so they grow academically. Access to art, technical education and athletics should accompany this goal, which requires intentional, long-range budget planning, she said. An external review of the district's suicide prevention and response protocols prompted by student Abby Smith's death in May 2024 found that there is a 'climate of mistrust' among adults who deal with the district. Smith, an eighth grader at Park Forest Middle School, died by suicide. Anderson said students' social and emotional well-being is another top issue for her. While she said she believes the district is providing 'already considerable' resources to respond to student mental health needs, she supports expanding them — including ensuring sufficient staffing of counselors — and making sure families and community members are a part of the support. Pointing to her background in labor economics, Anderson said fiscal responsibility is one of her guiding principles as a board member. 'My general preference is to raise taxes as little as possible without endangering the quality of educational programs and opportunities. That said, given the recent levels of inflation and the current uncertainty surrounding federal support for education, I think it is likely we will need to raise taxes again for the 2025-26 fiscal year,' she told Spotlight PA. The board approved tax increases each of the past three years. The budget proposal currently being weighed by the board proposes raising taxes by 4%. Anderson also supports cyber charter school reform, because the current reimbursement formulas do not take into consideration the different costs of cyber versus brick-and-mortar education and are unfair to local school districts, she said. Pennsylvania Auditor General Tim DeFoor in February released an audit of cyber charter schools and called for 'major reform to how they are funded.' Concerning the federal government's threat over funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools, Anderson said there is too much uncertainty about the legality of requirements coming from the Trump administration. And until those questions are answered, she does not advocate eliminating any programs. Watch Anderson's candidate interview with C-NET, Centre County's government access network, here. Barlow, a registered Democrat as of September 2024, is a professor emeritus of computer science at Penn State. Barlow served two terms on the State College Borough Council, including four years as council president and one year as chair of the Centre Region Council of Governments. From his time in local government, he has gained experience with public policy and budgeting, Barlow told Spotlight PA. In addition, he served for five years on the Centre County Advisory Council for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Barlow said many of the issues he dealt with in those roles also impact schools. 'What most students and their families want out of their school is access to learning that prepares them for their future and the feeling that they are welcome, safe, included and that they belong,' Barlow told Spotlight PA. 'For many of our students, the climate in SCASD schools is good, but for some that is not true.' Barlow said he supports implementing recommendations that were made by the independent consultant who reviewed the district's suicide prevention and response protocols. He specifically pointed to the number of school counselors, social workers and psychiatrists in the district, which the report said was lower than it should be, and said 'this fact deserves significant attention.' Another top issue for Barlow is the impact that uncertain federal funding could have on how the district can serve disabled and disadvantaged students, he said. Barlow also questioned the legal basis of the federal government's threat to purge DEI programs. He believes the existing program at SCASD is working for students. He said he is 'alarmed' by the cuts made to the U.S. Department of Education. The school district is financially healthy 'with a caveat,' Barlow said. 'There are a lot of stresses on our finances — building and renovation projects, inflationary pressures and uncertainty about federal funding. We are healthy, but some hard decisions on services and taxes may await us,' he said, adding that tax increases should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Barlow said DeFoor's cyber charter school audit 'should disturb everyone' because of how those tax dollars are spent. He called Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposal to institute a flat funding rate of $8,000 per student for all cyber charters 'a good place for our legislature to start' and said the State College school district would pay less than it does now under real reform. Watch Barlow's candidate interview with C-NET, Centre County's government access network, here. Black, a registered Democrat as of September 2024, is a former sixth-grade teacher at Bellefonte Area Middle School and also has tutored children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Black worked in the State College Area School District as a student teacher as part of her professional training. Her volunteer work continued later when her three children entered the school district, and Black said she saw how the district evolved over the past three decades. Black's daughter Abby Smith died by suicide at the age of 14, which she said was the driving force behind her run for school board. The most pressing issues for students in the district are 'mental health concerns, social media pressures and the climate of our country as a whole,' she told Spotlight PA. Black advocates for creating a standard method for documenting concerns about a student and a protocol for communicating them to parents; exploring partnerships with mental health providers; and helping students who have attempted suicide transition back to schooling routines. Black said the school district must address the 'climate of mistrust' reported in the external review and develop better communication. 'We have so many amazing resources, yet we still have so many students struggling,' she said. 'We need to find out why there is this disconnect and what we can do to help those who aren't currently feeling supported.' Making sure teachers, students, administrators and staff at the district keep 'open lines of communication' will also help maintain a school environment where students can feel safe and welcome, she said. The school district should not eliminate DEI programs to avoid losing out on federal funding, because those programs benefit students, Black said. 'I believe it is an absolute tragedy that some districts are watering down or altering their mission statements so that they can still receive federal dollars,' she said. 'We are a diverse, inclusive community and this is a fact of which we should be proud.' Watch Black's candidate interview with C-NET, Centre County's government access network, here. Arnold Desmarais, a registered Democrat as of September 2024, owns a photography business in State College. She has two children who attend school in the district. Desmarais serves as an elementary school parent-teacher organization president and a middle school parent-teacher-student organization vice president. She is also on the steering committee for the new middle school facility, advising the construction of a new building that will replace the 53-year-old Park Forest Middle School in Patton Township. Desmarais told Spotlight PA the most pressing issue facing the district is the 'social emotional learning for our students, faculty and staff.' The district should prioritize training for all faculty and staff to create a safe school environment, she said. 'These are the people with our children on a daily basis and should have adequate training to help with looking for warning signs.' She told C-NET, Centre County's government access network, that the burnout some teachers and staff experienced, especially during remote learning, should be an important part of the mental health conversation. Desmarais said she does not believe the district should cut DEI programs: 'It helps create access, opportunity and healthy learning environments for all learners, regardless of demographic.' Eliminating them would be a shortsighted decision, she said. While Desmarais considers the district's financial picture healthy, she said she would support a tax increase 'within reason.' 'If we didn't raise taxes we couldn't afford to hire teachers, which would mean larger class sizes and less services offered,' she said. The district has no choice but to follow state rules regarding how much it pays to charter schools currently, and oversight over how charter schools spend their funding is lacking, Desmarais said. 'Cyber charter school reform is necessary,' she said. Watch Desmarais' candidate interview with C-NET here. Huff, a registered Democrat as of September 2024, is an incumbent board member whose term started in 2022. Huff spent six years as a public school teacher and nearly a decade teaching at a university. Huff serves as the vice president of the Central Intermediate Unit 10 Board and advocates for public education at the state and federal levels. The most pressing issue facing the district currently is the balance between managing the uncertain future of public education under the Trump administration and meeting the current needs of students, Huff told Spotlight PA. Huff said the governing body also needs to acknowledge and respond to the 'climate of mistrust' finding in the external suicide prevention and response review. 'A climate of mistrust at any level works against the way I want a school district to function. The board should work to provide resources and oversight to help facilitate better interactions amongst stakeholders,' she said. Mental health is not something that can be won, but an evolving effort, she told C-NET, Centre County's government access network. She also spoke about supporting the building of the new middle school, working to help students grow and retaining staff. The state legislature could help ensure adequate and fair funding for school districts by increasing basic education funding across the board, while reforming the cyber charter school funding formula, which is 'simply unfair,' she said. The $6.5 million that the district pays in the current budget for cyber charters could pay the salaries of 50 new teachers, Huff told Spotlight PA. Local revenue — property taxes collected from residents and businesses — made up about 80% of the school district's budget in the past few years, Huff said. Funding reform could boost school district funding and allow for less reliance on property taxes, she added. Huff said it's unclear what the federal government is asking schools to do exactly regarding DEI programs, but she sees them as valuable to students. 'Our mission is to ensure every student has opportunities to grow, thrive and fulfill their potential through caring, responsive education,' she said. 'We will continue to comply with all laws. However, DEI programs (or any other program that supports our mission) should not be removed just because the federal government has requested they be removed.' Watch Huff's candidate interview with C-NET here. McTernan, a registered Republican as of September 2024, has four sons and is the author of a book designed to help parents understand home education. McTernan told Spotlight PA that during more than 15 years of homeschooling, she became equipped in vetting curricula, setting learning objectives and managing budgets. Exposure to a range of learning styles and ways to meet academic goals — which began as an attempt to provide an alternative to her oldest son — drives her decision to run for school board. If elected, McTernan said her top issues are mental health, safety and educational standards. McTernan said self-harm, depression and anxiety are on the rise, and that it's imperative to address their root causes. 'I think we need to be open to the idea that perhaps pushing ideological beliefs on children is actually causing undue stress and mental health issues,' she told Spotlight PA. 'Also more and more studies are being done that show that social media is a major factor in causing bullying, anxiety and depression. Parents need to be informed of this, and teachers should have the right to not allow cell phone use during instruction time.' McTernan told Spotlight PA the school board's focus should be on academics and less on 'divisive curricula,' which is why she said she would support eliminating DEI programs. She told C-NET, Centre County's government access network, that these programs are outside the scope of a school district's academic mission. The cost of education per student in the school district is high compared to the national average and especially so compared to the average homeschooled student, McTernan said. She said there must be fiscal responsibility and accountability in district spending. Watch McTernan's candidate interview with C-NET here. Sogor, a registered Republican as of September 2024, is a State College native and a 2019 graduate of State College Area High School. Sogor told C-NET, Centre County's government access network, that becoming a homeowner motivated him to pursue fiscal responsibility in public spending, especially in the local school system. Sogor told Spotlight PA he is the only candidate 'young enough to understand what it is like to be a kid in this modern era' and has firsthand experience 'dealing with the failed policies put forth by a school board.' He said the most pressing issues facing State College students are policies that 'help the top 10 and bottom 10% of students while the middle 80% continue to get left behind' and taxpayers shoulder higher taxes. The district has a $200 million budget despite having fewer students enrolled, Sogor told Spotlight PA. He said he does not support tax increases in the school district and would like to see them decrease instead. 'Parents deserve further transparency on where their tax dollars are spent, and specifically why we must pay an extra million dollars to build Park Forest in order to save a couple trees,' he said, referring to the construction of a new building to replace the current Park Forest Middle School. Sogor said every child deserves to be loved and feel safe, including while at school, but he said it's hard to say what role or responsibility the school board has regarding the 'climate of mistrust' described in the third-party review. Having parents more involved and fostering a better sense of community are what students need, he told C-NET. He added that he doesn't think the solution is hiring more social workers because they can address only some of students' needs. As a board member, Sogor said he would evaluate whether students benefit from existing DEI programs before making a judgment on whether they should continue. He is 'encouraged' by the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, he told C-NET. He said he believes states should make decisions for themselves when it comes to education, because states understand students' needs better than the federal government. Remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has hampered academic achievement across the board, Sogor said. There's a need to 'right that ship' and encourage a better form of education. Sogor was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by the Centre County GOP against the Centre County Board of Elections challenging the county's decision to count undated or wrongly dated mail-in ballots during the 2024 primary elections. The district court dismissed the case in May 2024. Watch Sogor's candidate interview with C-NET here. SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reviving rural Pa. should start with shoring up local governments, says state commission
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at HARRISBURG — Removing barriers to getting public dollars into the hands of Pennsylvania's rural communities is a top priority of a new commission created to revive these areas. The Rural Population Revitalization Commission, established by lawmakers last year to brainstorm solutions to curb population decline, released a report last month laying out some of its ideas. The study includes feedback from stakeholders across the state who want more options for housing, health care, jobs, and transportation to make their communities more attractive to new residents and businesses. However, with limited staffing and a smaller taxpayer base to generate local revenue, many rural areas struggle to apply for and access state and federal grant money that could support development and revitalization projects. And even in places where officials secure these dollars, limited staffing can cause them to struggle to administer the influx of funding. In response to that feedback, the commission plans to evaluate the state's criteria for awarding funding and to ensure smaller municipalities have the tools — such as technical support — to get this money. This might include assessing prohibitive grant requirements, such as communities having to match the amount of money they receive from grants. 'I think what we can do is look strategically and say, 'Where can we make investments that will benefit and revitalize those areas that have, quite frankly, been neglected?'' state Rep. Paul Takac (D., Centre), who serves on the commission, told Spotlight PA. The 15-member commission held its first hearing on growing 'local capacity' last month in Blair County, and plans to have more meetings on the topic. Stakeholders have already proposed a tiered system for grant applications to ensure a more equitable distribution of state funds that also recognizes rural areas might not offer the same return on investment as urban ones. Additionally, rural leaders have proposed regional partnerships to consolidate resources. Frank Mazza, director of government relations for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, suggested a merit-based or needs-based system to help level the playing field for rural areas. 'I think the mentality in many of our rural communities, not just in counties, is that we're just going to lose out to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh every time, and that is a barrier to pursuing different opportunities,' he said. Kyle Kopko, who chairs the commission, said this summer the body will dig into models and programs in other states and mull suggestions to address capacity challenges. 'There's a strong consensus among the commission members that we don't want to reinvent the wheel,' he told Spotlight PA. 'We really want to be deliberative about this and show that a recommendation isn't harmed by evidence.' The commission is required to release proposals for legislative and regulatory changes every two years. But Kopko, who also directs the General Assembly's Center for Rural Pennsylvania, hopes those recommendations — which could include legislation or procedural shifts within state agencies — are ready sooner rather than later. The commission aims to release more reports with stakeholder feedback and possible solutions on a rolling basis. While the commission likely won't draft legislation directly, it will outline what a bill should include to address a specific issue, Kopko said. The hope is to have bipartisan support for anything requiring action from lawmakers and introduce identical proposals in both chambers. State Rep. Dan Moul (R., Adams), who sits on the Center for Rural Pennsylvania's board, said he's confident the commission will come up with proposals that can make it through the legislature and become law. But bill proposals and increased spending aren't the only suggestions he hopes to see. He also wants the commission to target efforts to remove red tape within state agencies like the Department of Environmental Protection. 'If you make it too difficult for that entrepreneur to build his building, to start his business, to maybe hire half a dozen people, he's never going to make it,' Moul told Spotlight PA. 'It's too expensive. It all has to work together.' and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
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Pa. primary election 2025: Everything you need to know about running for local public office
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at STATE COLLEGE — As DuBois and neighboring Sandy Township prepare to consolidate into a new city in January 2026, all of the seats on its fresh seven-person council are up for election this year. This rare occurrence is highly anticipated by residents and driving more interest than usual in running for local office, Clearfield County Commissioner Dave Glass told Spotlight PA. It's good to see competition in municipal races, rather than empty ballots, Glass added. About 50% of 673 elected municipal officials said they ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections that got them in office, according to their response to a 2021 survey by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency. Pennsylvania's more than 2,500 municipalities require almost 13,000 elected officials to operate, according to the center's survey. Many public roles, including judicial positions, school board seats, and municipal board members, are on the ballot this year. With the nomination petition window opening Feb. 18, here are the basics of running for local public office in Pennsylvania. Adult residents who have lived in their municipality for at least one year and are registered as voters there can run for county, borough, and township offices. While special qualifications might apply to specific positions, this eligibility rule generally applies. An unofficial list by the Centre County Election Office shows more than 150 vacant seats are open there. Potential candidates can begin gathering signatures for their nomination petition today. Petition packets — paperwork including instructions for candidates — can be found at county election offices. The Department of State also provides resources online. Depending on the office, candidates have to obtain a required amount of signatures — 250 for county offices, for example, and 10 to be on school boards. Filling out the petition paperwork properly is crucial, Centre County Director of Elections Melanie Bailey told Spotlight PA in an email. The candidate's name and office they seek should be legibly written, correct, and consistent throughout the paperwork, Bailey said. Special attention should be paid to the people who sign the nomination petition too, she added. Signers must be registered to vote and belong to the same political party as the candidate, Bailey wrote. She recommends getting more signatures than what is required. Once nomination petitions have the necessary signatures, petitioners submit the paperwork along with any applicable filing fees to their county election office. They have until March 11 to complete this crucial step to appear on the ballot in the primary election. The state published a detailed calendar for additional deadlines of this process. The Pennsylvania municipal primary is May 20. The General Election is Nov. 4. Bailey's office can answer basic questions, she said, although candidates might want to seek independent, professional help for their campaigns. Elected officials on the local level are more likely amateurs in public affairs rather than career politicians. Running for office, especially for the first time, can be a daunting task. 'It can be a little overwhelming for people who haven't done it before,' Glass said. In two recent sessions in Clearfield and DuBois, respectively, he prepared slides that explained the petition process, gave out paperwork packets, and answered questions from attendees. Glass said the effort by the Clearfield County Board of Elections aims to make it as easy as possible for people 'to throw their hat in the ring.' 'Let the voters see a conversation and make a choice,' he said. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
