Published Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Herald Staff Writer
One incumbent Mercer County commissioner will not be running for another term this year, another will and the third is not sure.
Two other candidates are also mounting campaigns for a seat on the three-member board of commissioners.
Commissioner Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman said Monday that his current term on the board is his last.
"I've had eight years, I'll be near 70 years old at the end of this term," he said. "I want to spend more time with my family. I've enjoyed these eight years, but it's time for me to retire."
Brenneman, a Republican, was elected in 1995.
Although she has not yet issued a formal announcement, Commissioner Olivia M. Lazor said Monday she will seek a fourth term as commissioner.
"I like this job. I think I represent the people well," Mrs. Lazor said, adding that she has been a "hard-working, committed public servant." Mrs. Lazor is a Democrat.
Commissioner Kenneth Seamans said Monday he has not decided if he is running in the coming election. Seamans, a Republican, was appointed in 2001 to complete former Commissioner Brian Shipley's term.
Also running this year are Republican Joe Phillips, East Lackawannock Township, and Democrat Richard McMahon, Hermitage.
Phillips, 42, is a 1978 graduate of Mercer High School and graduated from Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tenn. He spent 18 years in the Army supervising medical treatment at Fort Bragg, N.C. Phillips now owns a grant writing business, BA and JO Enterprises.
Phillips said he is running for commissioner because he wants to see progress in Mercer County.
"Basically ... I've been gone for over 18 years from the area, just coming back for vacations each year, I haven't seen progress," he said. "The country was going through one of its biggest economic booms and population booms ... none of it occurred here."
Phillips said he'd like to see economic development take place in the county. He would also like to see people in their 40s and younger get involved in local politics and provide activities and places for kids to go so they can stay out of trouble.
"I just want to bring leadership to the county and give it a little vision," he said. "With no vision, you don't go anywhere."
McMahon, 66, is a 1954 graduate of Sharon High School and a 1961 graduate of Youngstown State University. He operated a floor-covering business between 1961 and 1974 and has owned and directed the Business Institute of Pennsylvania, formerly the Shenango Valley School of Business, since he opened it in 1976.
McMahon was elected to Sharon city council in 1965 and named council president in 1967, but said he's most proud of having served as chairman of the Sharon Civil Service Commission for 24 years.
McMahon said the current board of commissioners has not made a "strong enough case" for increasing property taxes over 60 percent in two-year period.
"To wisely spend $54-plus million annually requires leadership and entrepreneurial skills. I believe I posses both, plus a hard-to-break habit of saying 'no' to a spending request until its need is proven," he said. "We did not get into this fiasco overnight and won't get out of it overnight either. But the morning I start working for you, we will."
By law, the board of commissioners includes members of at least two political parties. Democrats and Republicans chose two nominees each in the May 20 primary. Voters vote for two candidates in the November election and the top three vote getters win seats on the board.
Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch contributed to this story.