From staff reports
The League of Women Voters of Clarion County offers this voters’ guide to help inform voters prior to the November 7 election. Questions were selected by the League of Women Voters of Clarion County and addressed to the candidates for Clarion County Commissioner. Candidates’ responses are printed in their own words. For publication, the order of presentation of the candidates is alphabetical.
The League of Women Voters of Clarion County is a nonpartisan organization that does not support, oppose, or endorse any political party or candidate.
The LWV encourages citizens to play an informed and active role in government, and it publishes this guide for voters to become more acquainted with the candidates and their ideas about how to best serve the citizens of Clarion County.
Occupation: Clarion County Commissioner
Education: Communication Degree from Clarion University; Graduate of Keystone High School
Qualifications: Have more experience as a commissioner than any other candidate
1. What are your top priorities for the county and how do you plan to achieve them?
I am limited in the number of words I can write here, but in general my top priorities have always been to: Stand up for the best interests of county residents; Help my constituents when I am able or direct them to someone who is in a position to help; Keep county spending and taxes as low as possible; Promote economic growth.
When I first took office as commissioner, unemployment in Clarion County was around 12-percent. Now it is running around 4- or 5-percent with many new businesses and good-paying manufacturers having moved in. Of course, this improvement was not all because of me, but my fellow commissioners and I have not hindered development and always have come down on the side of increased economic activity. For instance, we voted to decrease county property taxes in 2022.
I also want to continue to work behind the scenes with partners like our state legislators and the airport authority to extend water and sewage to additional exits of Interstate 80.
Continuing to offer help to municipalities in finding a long-term fix to the Emergency Medical Services (ambulance) crisis is another priority. While this is a township and borough task, the county spearheaded the development of a task force made up of municipality leaders and other parties to find solutions.
Another big job to tackle is the upgrade to the county courthouse which we already have planned for 2024. This will include a new HVAC system and piping, new second floor bathrooms, and basement renovations.
To accomplish these things it will take an efficiently-run county government while also operating various functions like 911 dispatching, Human Services, delinquent tax collections, fair property assessments, inmate housing, elections and more. I am the candidate with the most on-the-job experience in all these areas and love serving you in this capacity humbly and with no self-serving ambitions.
2. Neighboring counties offer greater citizen-friendly recycling than Clarion County does. What can be done to improve recycling service here?
Recycling mandates in small rural counties like Clarion County produce budget deficits. There have been recycling centers in the county but they could not be maintained because of red ink and a lack of manpower. I visited a nearby county a few years ago that had a recycling center and it lost tons of money every year and required constant aid from that county’s budget and the tax-paying citizens.
I don’t hear much demand from our citizens to fund a recycling service here. In fact, we hold a county-wide recycling day each year at the county park that seems to be decreasing in usage. In 2023 we had 82 people bring in electronic and hazardous waste materials. That was down from 138 in 2022 and 248 in 2021. If demand increased I would be open to increasing the county’s recycling days to two events per year instead of one.
Other options exist in the county year-round. There is the Veolia transfer station near exit 60 which takes recyclable materials including electronics. Also, P.J. Greco and Triple S take metals.
Candidate Name and Party: Daniel F. Carey, Democrat
Occupation: retired
Education: BS, MS, Special Ed; MBA, partial
Qualifications: Special Ed teacher, Redbank Valley High School 25 years; U.S. Navy, four years, FTG; PSEA UniServ Rep., Allegheny County, 14 years; wrestling coach, Redbank Valley High School Junior High/ junior varsity/ varsity head coach, 20 years. Resident of Clarion County since 1974. Full CV available on request.
1. What are your top priorities for the county and how do you plan to achieve them?
A. Economic development. Roll out incubator programs to bring new local businesses online – and get existing businesses to move into the area. WHY is the glass plant property still vacant? The county population is aging seniors need services to stay in their homes.
B. Blight remediation. The county is taking baby steps in this area, but existing blight is counter-productive to Economic Development. A full range of approaches from subsidies to eminent domain needs to be brought to bear. Companies considering relocating to Clarion look at the widespread blight and have second thoughts.
C. Education Development. Our county schools are in a state of decline. As population dwindles, programs are cut, one by one. This is counterproductive to Economic Development. Companies considering relocating to Clarion are not looking at the football fields and gyms; they look at the quality of the education available. Even mid-range to poor schools in Allegheny County offer a range of services that schools here have never even contemplated.
D. Tax Reform. Our current focus on keeping taxes as low as possible by providing as little service as possible is counterproductive to Economic Development. A small number of people own most of the real estate in the county and their sole interest is in low taxes, as they can afford to buy whatever services they need or want. The majority of people don’t pay a lot in taxes because they have low incomes. A balance has to be struck in order to provide the services that will attract people to come here or even STAY here or the country will continue to dwindle away.
E. Population We need to bring people here and encourage locals to STAY here.
2. Neighboring counties offer greater citizen-friendly recycling than Clarion County does. What can be done to improve recycling service here?
I lived in Wilkinsburg for ten years recently. They had trash pickup trucks with three smaller compactors along the sides for glass, metal, and paper. Regular trash went in the back. The County should require that local services bring those on board as old trucks are taken out of service. Curbside recycling is the only thing that makes a difference. I take mine to the WM transfer station in Shippenville (free) twice a month, but most people don’t do that.
Candidate Name and Party: Ted Tharan, Republican
Occupation: Current Clarion County Commissioner
Qualifications: Previously I was a successful business owner for over 40 years. The past eight years I have been a Clarion County Commissioner, of those eight years I held the Chairman position for seven. Your taxes have not been raised in the eight years I have been here, by working within our budget, and at the same time we have moved Clarion County forward. I feel this is what makes me qualified to be reelected as your County Commissioner.
1. What are your top priorities for the county and how do you plan to achieve them?
There are many projects and priorities in Clarion County. These change daily depending on what happened the prior day.
3 One example is the boiler in the Court House. Last March the boiler started to leak and after further examination we found it to be completely rusted apart. A new boiler was ordered at that time, with the supply chain the way it is, it never came. Last month we had to find another boiler and we did. The temporary is running. The entire system and piping is all deteriorating, so installing a complete heat/cool system in the Court House is one top priority. At the same time as renovating the basement with the $900,000.00 grant we received is another priority.
– Getting the new Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA) up and running. This is another priority that needs undivided attention along with making sure Economic Development remains successful as it has been.
– We must continue working on EMS and fire department’s fundings so they remain open.
– We must continue to improve infrastructure for Broadband, 911, along with water and sewage installing new and replacing old.
– As we have in the past 8 years we need to continue to improve recreation. We have done improvements at Clarion County Park, the playground being the last project completed, as well as work on the trails and river access.
– Continue to improve wages and benefits for County employees to retain current and attract others.
– Continue working with Delta Development Corp. as our grant writers. The grant writers have helped us secure over 20 million dollars of grant monies in the past 8 years.
– The need to continue to balance the budget like we have the past 8 years without raising taxes, is also top priority.
These are just a few priorities along with many others the County faces on a daily basis.
With my experience in business for over 40 years and my knowledge of County government over the past eight years as your Commissioner these projects and priorities can be accomplished if I am reelected.
2. Neighboring counties offer greater citizen-friendly recycling than Clarion County does. What can be done to improve recycling service here?
Clarion County currently has two recycling days a year at the County Park. With the high cost of diesel fuel, equipment and labor, recycling is not cost effective. It would cost twice as much to collect than you would receive from the recyclables collected. Who is to pay for the loss? It has been tried several times in the past when the cost of collection was lower and it still failed. I am not in favor of the taxpayer paying the bill for this losing venture. There is less glass now and no glass plants, fewer newspaper subscriptions and with the current government’s views towards shutting down the oil industry there will be less plastic to recycle. Anyone can take their recyclables to Waste Management in Shippenville anytime they want.
The only recycling issue I see coming is the highly toxic lithium batteries that will need to be recycled and then what?
Recycling might work in the metropolitan areas, but not in the rural areas.
Candidate Name: and Party: Braxton White, Democrat
Occupation: Trade School Instructor
Education: Associates in Computer Aided Drafting and Design, Triangle Tech
Qualifications: School Director, Clarion Area School District 2017-Present
Vice-President – 2019-Present
Member, Clarion County Career Center Joint Operating Committee, 2018-2021
Veteran, Pennsylvania Army National Guard 2008-2014
Honor Graduate, Advanced Individual Training
Honorable Discharge, 2014
Campaign website, if applicable: http://www.electbraxton.com
1. What are your top priorities for the county and how do you plan to achieve them?
Emergency Medical Services across the county are looking at an annual shortfall of over 1 million dollars. This has led providers to put off needed equipment upgrades, reduce their coverage hours, or in the case of the Shippenville Ambulance Service, shutting the doors altogether. The funding issues have led to excessively low pay for our EMTs and in turn a shortage of the public servants we task with saving our lives. Our fire departments are facing similar challenges in that they don’t have enough volunteers to be sustainable long term, and they have to pick and choose which equipment to buy and upgrade. Since 2016, the county has cut the Sheriff’s Department budget by over $67,000. Defunding law enforcement is not something the people of Clarion County believe in. They believe in safe communities. The volunteers who rescue us after a car accident or run into a burning building should have the equipment they need to do their job safely. When we call 911 with a medical emergency it should mean an ambulance will arrive to help before it’s too late. The heroes we task with saving our lives should be some of the highest paid people around, not the lowest. We need state and federal legislation to give our county and local governments more options to raise revenues for these services and we need the insurance providers to pay enough when an ambulance or fire truck is dispatched. I will use the relationships I have with the Governor’s office and our representatives in DC to lobby these issues every opportunity I get. Finally, I will look to the successful model of other rural counties which is to give matching grants to any township or borough which steps up to raise those revenues for their services. Other important issues include: improving hiring and retention at our county jail, staffing up Children and Youth Services to protect the most vulnerable kids in our county, demolishing and repairing blighted properties with the help of Clarion County Redevelopment, and working with Clarion County Economic Development as we transition to a new county tourism agency. We also need to work with the private sector and our friends at the Clarion County Career Center to address our needs for more skilled labor, and we also have to face the unfortunate economic realities of declining enrollment at PennWest Clarion. There is a lot on the line, and I’m excited to deliver for you.
2. Neighboring counties offer greater citizen-friendly recycling than Clarion County does. What can be done to improve recycling service here?
Venango County has a convenient recycling drop off site we could look to for ideas but with private industry already offering drop off in Clarion County, we’d have to consider the cost of doing so. I would also look to work with the private sector to find more frequent and convenient opportunities to recycle and dispose of hazardous materials such as tires, paint and electronics.