Registered Democrats in Verona will have a lot of voting options for council members in the May 20 primary.
With seven candidates running for four open seats, the ballot features four incumbents and three newcomers.
There are no Republican primary candidates for the seats.
Here are the candidates and their responses to election questions posed by TribLive:
Vincent Flotta (incumbent)
Age: 51
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Freelance graphic design artist; co-founder of Lower Valley Athletic Foundation, a local nonprofit; owned TMV Brothers restaurant from 2009 to 2013
Education: Some college experience; graduated from Riverview in 1992
What is the biggest issue facing the community?
“I think the biggest issue is what the biggest issue was when I ran the first time — failing infrastructure,” Flotta said.
Flotta said he feels Verona is a little behind on infrastructure and wants to focus on spending money to fix roads and other publicly utilized resources.
“If Verona is nice and has solid, good infrastructure, then the towns surrounding us will build themselves up also,” he said. “It’s worth the investments.”
John Gemellas (appointed to council)
Age: 53
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Hybrid HR/safety administrative role for a local industrial coatings contracting firm involved in many large projects in multiple states
Education: Graduated from Riverview High School; bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh
What is the biggest issue facing the community?
“Verona is a beautiful, quiet and safe town. I believe our biggest ongoing challenge is public safety, specifically maintaining and enhancing services and employee retention. With federal budget cuts, we need to find creative ways to generate revenue without burdening residents.
“Ultimately, we want a thriving borough that is safe for families and businesses, where we can all rest easily at night. We have made significant progress in growing the police department, modernizing our HR policies and organizing our finances, but our work is never done.”
Trish Hredzak (incumbent)
Age: 41
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Research lab manager in the department of chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
Education: Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Chatham College (now Chatham University) and a master’s degree in chemistry from Tufts University in Boston
What is the biggest issue facing the community?
“Two of the biggest issues the community is facing are police force and public engagement between council and the community,” Hredzak said. “Both are really important and really challenging.”
In an effort to improve the borough, the council approved a study funded by a DCED grant and two significant findings tasked the council to hire an HR consultant and labor attorney.
“We’re moving forward with both of those positions, and we took the study very seriously,” Hredzak said.
Hredzak said she also wants to see her “passion projects” come to fruition. The borough’s active transportation plan adopted in 2022, the VOPP Trail and the recently awarded DCED multimodal grants are slowly being implemented in the borough.
“I was on the fence about running because it can take a toll, especially on a family, but everything was a little too exciting to step away,” Hredzak said.
Jeffrey Mason
Did not respond to requests for comment.
Kelli Rodriguez
Age: 44
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Logsitic specialist at an engineering and maintenance dispatcher since 2018; founder of 412 Animal Rescue
Education: Bachelor’s degrees in business, general science and human resources from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; certified EMT
What is the biggest issue facing the community?
“We’re not heard,” Rodriguez said.
She said that, as a resident, she doesn’t feel like there’s a line of communication between the community and council members.
“We don’t get answered. When we go to get answers, (council members) don’t answer us,” she said.
Rodriguez said she is running to help fix the lack of interaction between council members and residents.
“The point of being on council is to be the voice of the residents,” she said. “What’s the point of being on council if you don’t care about the community or its residents?”
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Curtis Spurling
Age: 36
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Regional transport supervisor for a behavioral health company
Education: Associate’s degree from the Community College of Allegheny County in general studies; graduated from Riverview in 2007; certificates in drug and alcohol studies, and ethnic and diverse studies from CCAC
What is the biggest issue facing the community?
“I think things have been stagnant for too long,” Spurling said. “Verona has the potential to be a vibrant community and attention seems to be put elsewhere.”
Spurling believes Verona needs a younger, fresh voice to make it a great community “not just now, but into the future.”
He also hopes to assist with the VOPP Trail
“I hope to be a part of it and help get it done,” he said.
Raymon Suchevich (incumbent)
Age: 64
Political affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Retired after working 33 years at the Pennsylvania Turnpike; part-time funeral home assistant at Burkett and Truby funeral home; volunteer Verona fireman for 43 years, including 23 as fire chief
Education: Graduated from Riverview in 1978
What is the biggest issue facing the community?
“Because of the budget and money, we don’t have a big police force and it’s a struggle getting guys,” he said.
Despite this, Suchevich said things are about to pick up since the borough is receiving more grants to help with needs such as improved infastructure.
“Due to covid, a lot of things were put on the back burner like grants,” Suchevich said. “It’s all coming to fruition now.”
He said paving projects are out for bid, the borough’s multimodal grant was approved and there’s some real progress with the VOPP Trail project
“I’d like to be on council another four years to see all of this come to fruition and to see what else we can accomplish,” Suchevich said.