No matter how the November election plays out, three new faces will be elected to Whitehall Borough Council according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Six hopefuls running for three open seats, and all six are newcomers as incumbents Philip J. Lahr, Bob McKowon and Glenn Nagy lost their primary bids.
Here are the candidates and their answers to questions posed by the Tribune-Review.
Beth Lynn Eicher
Political party: Democrat
Age: 43
Education: University of Pittsburgh, information science, 2000. Baldwin High School class of 1997. Post bachelor’s studies at Carnegie Mellon University, Kennedy King College, and Northeastern Illinois University in computer science.
Occupation: IT consultant
Previous public office: Elected Judge of Elections of Whitehall Borough District 4
Primary candidates cited communication and transparency as a big issue in Whitehall. If elected, what would you do to increase communication and transparency with residents? As a candidate, I have been streaming council meetings because the people need more timely information about council decisions without taxpayer expense. Prior, I announce the link and agenda on the Citizens of Whitehall Boro Facebook page. Afterwards, I publish the archives on my website and YouTube @UnofficialWhitehallBoro channel. As councilwoman, I will motion to form a communication committee to continue as a volunteer service. Other low or no cost opportunities exist with technology such as publishing the email addresses of our elected officials on the Whitehall Borough website. Furthermore, I will lead by example by holding office hours because not all resident concerns can wait until the bi-monthly council meeting.
Tristan Lucchetti
Age: 40
Political party: Democratic
Education: B.A. and M.B.A. from University of Pittsburgh
Occupation: Assistant director at Health Sciences Library at the University of Pittsburgh
Previous public office: None.
Primary candidates cited communication and transparency as a big issue in Whitehall. If elected, what would you do to increase communication and transparency with residents? Increasing communication via social media is one important step towards better transparency. Having a livestream and accessible recordings of council meetings is another way towards increasing transparency. Having easy to find and open lines of communication directly with council members is the third way to achieve greater transparency. The ultimate goal is to create an environment where residents of Whitehall will feel heard, valued and well-informed about the decisions council will be making that affects their lives. It takes a commitment from government officials and a willingness to engage with the community.
John Paravati
Age: 58
Political party: Republican
Education: Associate Degree in CADD Management
Occupation: Roadway CADD Designer in Civil Engineering
Previous public office: Prior to moving to Whitehall, I served as a Baldwin Township Commissioner for eight years.
Primary candidates cited communication and transparency as a big issue in Whitehall. If elected, what would you do to increase communication and transparency with residents? Council members have an obligation to be as open and honest as possible with residents about certain services, practices, procedures, laws and more. They must be clear, accountable and truthful about how they are spending tax dollars. Openness means involving the residents in the decision-making process. Transparency is the right to information while openness is the right to participation. It is all about letting in and embracing innovative ideas, modern technology, and novel approaches. There are a variety of ways council members can be proactive in communicating with residents. If elected, I will fully support livestreaming of public meetings to keep residents better informed. Council members should also have individual email addresses to allow a more one-on-one approach allowing residents to be more involved with the decisions involving their community.
Jeremy Rose
Age: 41
Political party: Republican
Education: Bachelor of science in health information management
Occupation: Stay at home parent
Previous public office: None
Primary candidates cited communication and transparency as a big issue in Whitehall. If elected, what would you do to increase communication and transparency with residents? If elected, I will work to improve communication and transparency by holding town halls to allow citizens more time to discuss issues rather than just having a short comment period prior to council meetings. These will allow the elected officials to gain more knowledge regarding the wants and needs of community. This will also give citizens the ability to learn more about any major capital projects that are being planned by the borough.
I will work to have all council meetings livestreamed and recorded by the borough rather than having citizens depend on a private citizen to livestream and record the meetings with their own equipment.
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I will work to improve communication between Whitehall Borough, Baldwin Borough, Baldwin Township, and the Baldwin Whitehall School District regarding facilities for youth sports. Ideally, we would have at least one representative from each borough, the township, the district and athletic associations on a committee to discuss and improve facilities and usage by organizations.
I will work on having the borough’s financials more readily available to citizens by having as much as possible accessible through the borough website. Citizens have the right to know where their taxes are being spent and should at minimum have quick access to it on a macro level.
I will answer phone calls, emails and have face to face conversations with any citizen that wishes to contact me.
Jesse J. Siefert
Age: 41
Political party: Republican
Education: University of Pittsburgh, B.S. in emergency medicine, paramedic
Occupation: Entrepreneur, business owner
Previous public office: None
Primary candidates cited communication and transparency as a big issue in Whitehall. If elected, what would you do to increase communication and transparency with residents? Whitehall Borough has an extraordinary history and substantial foundation, but it is time for change, improvements, advancement and a younger perspective for the future. I believe the borough staff has great ideas for increased communication and new technology, it will be my responsibility to support them.
Lacey Thomas
Age: 42
Political party: Democrat
Education: Bachelors in liberal arts from Marietta College
Occupation: Corporate trainer for New York Life
Previous public office: None
Primary candidates cited communication and transparency as a big issue in Whitehall. If elected, what would you do to increase communication and transparency with residents? While great improvements have been made throughout 2023 to increase communication to residents via online platforms, I will look to also increase other forms as well. I feel it is important to provide more frequent communication via mail, as many residents do not use or frequent online platforms. I also support livestreaming of council meetings with archived meetings available on the website. Additionally, while it is the duty of our elected officials to make decisions for the borough, the residents do not get to see the detailed information upon which these decisions are based. I would propose a media component to council meetings in an effort to better present options when discussing construction proposal options, changes to ordinances as well as road and safety matters. Providing more information allows residents to build a better understanding of the borough and the impact of council decisions.
Katie Green is a Tribune-Review deputy managing editor. You can contact Katie at kgreen@triblive.com.