Five candidates seeking three positions on Northumberland County commissioner board

Apr. 30—Voters in Northumberland County have five candidates to consider for the three-person commissioner board on election day.

Republicans Joseph Klebon, Sam Schiccatano, and Vinny Clausi and Democrats Meghan Beck and Craig Fetterman are on their party's ballot. Since two candidates from each party go through to November, Beck and Fetterman will be on the ballot. Klebon and Schiccatano are current commissioners, while Clausi previously served on the board.

Klebon, seeking his second term, has been commissioner for the past 3 1/2 years while Schiccatano, seeking his third term, has been commissioner for eight years.

"We have worked hard to get the county through the COVID-19 pandemic and ensured employee safety," said Klebon, 69, of Ralpho Township. "We communicate with our row officers and our department heads to give Northumberland County residents a functioning government they can be proud of. I pride myself on teamwork and cooperation — listening to concerns, agreeing to a plan, and implementing a solution are strong suits of mine. I have been a teacher, a counselor, an administrator, and a commissioner — all of this requires critical thinking skills and effective decision-making. I also treat everyone with respect and listen to them."

He said he has been able to bring teamwork and cooperation to the county.

"I have always voted for a balanced budget with no tax increases," he said. "I bring integrity, honesty, and transparency to county government. I will continue to work with everyone as problems arise and I will deal with them in the best interest of all county residents. I do not grandstand, I do not bring frivolous lawsuits, no infighting, and we leave politics at the door to get the work done for all the citizens of Northumberland County."

Schiccatano, 69, of Coal Township, has served as chairman for the last four years and was a union negotiator for eight years.

"I think the voters should look back to the last eight years of my time in the county," said Schiccatano. "There have been minimal tax increases (0 increases in the past three years). We have expanded services to mentally ill, vulnerable children, and integrated our Veterans Affairs services into Aging to provide complementary services to those who deserve them most. This board has offered more cooperation and unanimous votes plus we have taken on some of the largest projects in county history."

The county courthouse has been restored and a brand new prison complex built, he said.

"We have been able to address the mental health crisis and drug epidemic both in our prison system and in the county as a whole," said Schiccatano. "Treatment options, re-entry programs, anger management, and financial literacy classes are all examples of this."

Clausi, 68, of Coal Township, was a commissioner from 2008 to 2015.

"I feel that my combined experience in business and government makes me the most qualified candidate seeking the commissioners' office," said Clausi. "I owned and operated several successful companies. I managed hundreds of employees during my 45 years in business. My construction corporation was a provider of heavy maintenance contracting services for several Fortune 500 companies. I negotiated multi-million dollar construction contracts and completed major construction projects on time and under budget. Last year I retired and sold my businesses and would like to take my knowledge and experience back into county government."

Clausi said he served as Ralpho Township supervisor and was later elected Northumberland County commissioner, serving from 2008 through 2015.

"During my tenure, I ran Northumberland County government as a business, renegotiated contracts and eliminated waste and abuse which I found in every level of county government. I reduced the county budget from $95 million to $64 million and reduced the workforce by 38% from 848 to 530 employees," he said. "When I entered the commissioners' office in January 2008 the county had a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, when I left in January 2016 the county had a budget surplus. The results during my previous time as a county commissioner prove that I am qualified for the job."

Clausi said he will bring the same dedication and work ethic he had in running his businesses to county government.

"The citizens of the county know what I accomplished during my previous tenure as county commissioner and I am confident I can clean up county government," he said. "I have never taken a political contribution for my campaigns and do not owe anything to the politicians and special interests. If the people are sick of the politicians and want a commissioner that will fight for the interests of the taxpayers and only the taxpayers they should vote for Vinny Clausi."

Fetterman, 66, a current Coal Township commissioner, said he was a member of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board executive team in Harrisburg solely responsible for a $2.9 billion budget for state-run wine and spirit stores.

"No other candidate has that type of experience," he said. "I was also a member of the Weis Markets executive team responsible for purchasing $140 million yearly. Furthermore, I know the challenges faced by our local small businesses. For 10 years I owned a convenience store, restaurant, gasoline operation along with two video stores."

During his time as a township elected official, there have been 17 successful years of growth in Coal Township, he said.

"I was blessed to work with a dedicated board and I feel I brought harmony and cooperation to Coal Township," he said. "I served 10 years as chairman of the board working with both Democrats and Republicans as evidenced by our voting records. I will bring that spirit of cooperation to the county board of commissioners. I have been endorsed by the Central Pennsylvania Building Trades Council along with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. I will put my experience in government, government business, corporate business and private business to work for the people of Northumberland County."

Beck, 47, of Sunbury, said she has been a rural Pennsylvania resident her entire life. After graduating from Bucknell University, she spent many years in health care, from a local file clerk to national corporate compliance where she helped to prevent and fight fraud within the organization.

"I have worked with the physically disabled, mentally-challenged, veterans, people in poverty and those trying to make a new start in life," she said. "I have over 26 years of experience as a business owner in multiple businesses in retail, the restaurant industry, and in real estate where I helped to bring more than a dozen properties back from blight and also maintained and improved the Shoe Factory in Milton which was challenged with functional obsolescence. Like many historic properties, it needed a new vision to allow it to be repurposed in our current economic market."

Beck also noted her volunteer accomplishments over her 16 years in community development and revitalization.

"I was part of the execution of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail, the launch of the Lake Augusta Wine and Brew Festival and the Sunbury New Year's Celebration," she said. "As the president of Sunbury's Revitalization Inc, and with a great team of people, we realized significant renovations to the Albright Center in Sunbury preventing the facility from falling into blight. This was done through grant writing and through public-private partnerships with local businesses. I am the former president of the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project, a long time chair and volunteer for Sunbury Old Towne Neighborhood Group, a member of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce, organizer for 1 Million Cups through the Bucknell Small Business Development Center, as well as participating with the Central PA Chamber of Commerce, and the Central Pennsylvania EcosySTEM. This breadth of experience represents my passions, my work ethic, and my love of our local communities."

Beck said she is dedicated to being a good public servant for the county's communities.

"I have the relevant experience and temperament to address the highest priority issues of our county by working hard with our other elected officials to make what needs to happen come to fruition," she said. "'Business-as-usual' and 'just-paying-the-bills' will not create the change we need. We need new ideas, and we need to push forward toward a new vision of our county. I won't shy away from projects to help uplift our communities, and I will watch over the budget to make certain our county government is responsible to each and every taxpayer's dollar they have entrusted to the county. A vote for me is a vote for a new era in our county, an era of better quality jobs, educational resources and community pride. Let's give our children reasons to stay and raise their families here in Northumberland County."

Economic development

All candidates said economic development is a top priority.

"I plan to continue to work with municipal governments and organizations such as SEDA-COG and DRIVE to apply for maximum levels of grant funding and to entice businesses to locate in our county," said Klebon. "Further, I serve on the SEDA-COG and workforce development boards to attract and retain skilled labor to Northumberland County. We have worked hard to partner with our municipalities on the issue of blight and cleanup. We have opened lines of funding that went toward long overdue water and sewer projects throughout the county. We have worked with the Northumberland County Housing Authority to expand housing for seniors and veterans. Finally, we have channeled millions of dollars to broadband to ensure even further expansion of stable internet and broadband connections."

Schiccatano highlighted the county joining SEDA-Council of Governments, of Lewisburg, and economic development agency DRIVE (Driving Real Innovation for a Vibrant Economy), of Danville. He said the county worked to help bring in Encina and Fresh Roasted Coffee.

"We helped develop the Sunbury hospital parcels, expand industrial parks in the northern end, acquired prison site and sold parcels and acquired long-time tenants," said Schiccatano. "We utilize relations with planning department and grant writing. Utilize the cooperation of municipal, county, state, and federal levels, all who work together now more than ever."

Clausi said it has always been a challenge to attract new companies to the county.

"I have dealt with corporate executives and know what they expect when they plan to invest in a business expansion," he said. "It always comes down to their bottom line. I will instruct the county staff to leave no stone unturned to identify opportunities to attract new businesses. I pledge I will personally meet with any prospective business seeking to expand or relocate and do everything in my power to convince them to come to Northumberland County."

When Clausi previously served as commissioner, he said he traveled at his own expense to the corporate headquarters of Great Dane Trailers and convinced their CEO to locate a manufacturing plant, which was planned for North Carolina, to Northumberland County. The result was the creation of 300 good-paying jobs.

"That is the kind of commitment I will make to bringing new jobs to our county," he said.

As a Coal Township commissioner, Fetterman said the municipality saw growth on its Route 61 corridor including recently attracting Wawa and Arby's.

"We need to take advantage of the Route 80 corridor in Milton and Sunbury areas," said Fetterman. "Taking full advantage of our interstate highway proximity for access to the ports of New York and New Jersey vital to growth. My business contacts will be an asset, I remain connected with many executive teams from Fortune 500 companies. In the southern end of our county the AOAA can play a vital role to tourist growth, the ATV industry is now bursting with potential. Most ATV owners have significant disposable income. The growth it is generating will benefit the entire county."

Beck said she plans to continue to support partnership with the efforts of DRIVE, FOCUS Central PA, Advance Central PA and SEDA-COG to address blighted industrial properties and workforce development.

"There is much that can be done to address blight and underutilized industrial properties within our county," she said. "While we can bring big companies in from outside, I am an advocate of supporting local entrepreneurship and the expansion of our existing businesses and other local initiatives, such as in tourism. Proof of my passion for this is my establishment of STEAM Innovation Labs, a makerspace, which creates programming to support entry-level entrepreneurs in the arts, sciences, and trades."

The biggest "potential game-changer" for the county is the prospect of its own community college for the region, said Beck.

"Through this asset, we can help to meet the immediate workforce needs of our local businesses while uplifting our families with training in jobs that provide family-sustaining wages," said Beck. "This is one of the few ways that we can, with certainty, grow our tax base and give people a means to lift themselves up economically. A third-party study shows that the establishment of a community college will immediately bring state tax money back to our region and will grow our local economy by $78 million within the first 10 years of its launch. The projects that will take longer to come to fruition will be the partnerships that are needed to support our local community revitalization efforts."

Beck said local volunteers are the heart of the communities and with support they could multiply their efforts.

"Economic development happens at many levels and without addressing all of these levels, we will not be able to re-envision a Northumberland County with a deep sense of community, respect for its history, and a sense of hope for the future," said Beck. "Without these things, we won't have a place where people want to raise their families, and we will not overcome decades of economic decline."

Top issues

The top issue in Northumberland County, according to Klebon, is the shrinking tax base and rising crime rates.

"Over the past year we have worked with the district attorney to provide him with extra staff members to manage an increased caseload," said Klebon. "Working closely with our department heads and other administrators we have held the line on the county budget while expanding services and increasing our share of state and federal funds."

Schiccatano said the top issue is looking to expand relationships with surrounding counties.

"Specifically, discuss regionalization of prisons to alleviate multi-county burdens of staffing, maintenance of building, wages, and prison programs," said Schiccatano.

The number one issue facing the county is the dire condition of the county finances, said Clausi.

"The county is operating with a $6 million dollar budget deficit," he said. "The current administration has used one-time cash infusions and temporary fixes to keep the county solvent but the fact is, county government has been spending much more than the revenue it receives. The bill is coming due and if something is not done the taxpayers will be forced to pay that bill."

Clausi said he intends to issue a report in his first month of office to expose the multimillion-dollar county budget deficit and provide the citizens with details of the county's mismanaged finances.

"I will then examine the operations of every county department and leave no stone unturned to identify and eliminate waste and abuse of tax dollars," he said. "I entered the commissioners' office in 2008 I found a similar situation, a big budget deficit and an administration that mismanaged county government. I addressed the problem by eliminating the politics, holding employees accountable for their actions and running county government like a business. When I left office in 2016, for the first time in many years, Northumberland County had a budget surplus. That is exactly what must be done again to make the county financially stable."

Fetterman said the number one issue is an alleged $6 million budget deficit.

"In my opinion (it was) created by inexperienced and mismanaged leadership," said Fetterman. "Just as important is public safety which must be a priority of any government body. Unfortunately, it is not so in Northumberland County. The county emergency communication center as well as the county prison have been mismanaged by the current administration which has put our citizens at risk."

Beck said the economy is the county's biggest challenge.

"We will not be able to address that or any other issue without stable leadership to cultivate efficient and effective processes and support a healthy county culture both inside and outside its offices," she said. "Within the county offices, we need to be able to support our staff who is on the ground addressing the immediate social needs of our community; our youth, our court and prison system, our emergency management systems, our veterans, our seniors and those with behavioral health issues. If we are good caretakers of these needs, every life in our county will be touched in a positive way."

Outside its offices, the county administration needs to be communicating with other local officials, creating a team environment to effectively leverage the county's resources, said Beck.

"Taxes are a necessity to maintain the services that the county provides, so it is imperative that we are being efficient and effective in how we manage the county budget, leveraging those funds to the highest advantage of the county," she said.