Kantz seeks Republican nomination for City Council

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·3 min read

Apr. 21—Marcy Kantz of Meadville is seeking one of two Republican Party nominations for Meadville City Council in the May 16 primary.

This announcement was received by The Meadville Tribune's March 7 deadline for candidate announcements.

As a member of council, Kantz said her plans would "focus on Meadville's budget crisis, creating a business friendly city, finding new ways to increase revenue while making city operations more efficient."

Kantz mounted a write-in campaign for Meadville's mayor post in 2021, losing only by a narrow margin to Jaime Kinder.

Kantz said she always followed national politics, but her attention turned to local politics in the spring of 2021 following the primary losses of then-Mayor LeRoy Stearns and Councilman Sean Donahue, to candidates backed by the local chapter of PA United, Crawford County United.

Kantz said she now "finds it imperative to make time for local politics out of necessity."

As business owners and natives of Meadville, she and her husband, Eric, are invested in Meadville's success. Kantz's plans for Meadville is "to provide alternative agenda to city residents, landlords, and business owners to the current progressive agenda of Vote for Meadville."

A 1987 graduate of Meadville Area High, she attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where she earned both a bachelor's in aeronautical studies and a master's in business administration in aviation.

During college, Kantz returned home summers to work for her father, David Leveto, at Builders Support & Supply Inc. in Erie while obtaining her private pilot's license. Upon graduation from college, Kantz enrolled in the Minnesota Air Traffic Control Institute where she graduated and ultimately earned a position as an air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration's Leesburg Enroute Air Traffic Control Center in Virginia.

Kantz later married John Kellick and returned home to raise four children. Kellick has since passed away.

While raising a family, Kantz worked various part-time jobs including selling real estate both in Erie and in Meadville; 4-H horse liaison for the Penn State Extension Office; and church secretary at Calvary Baptist. She also founded Denim & Dust Horse 4-H Club of Crawford County and was the organization leader for the club for 10 years.

She then worked for PNC Bank in Meadville as a sales representative for two years before working for David Jones Allstate Insurance as a licensed agent.

In 2019, she married Eric Kantz and began Keystone Kidz Childcare Center in Meadville. In addition, she purchased Keystone Strength while beginning Kantz Properties with Eric, while at the same time overseeing their two rental properties and a commercial property in Erie.

Kantz said she "wants to gather both Republican and Democrat support to educate voters of the progressive agenda of incumbent City Council members."

Kantz may be contacted via email at keystonekidz814@gmail.com or Facebook@Marcy Kantz For City Council, or through her campaign manager, William Chisholm, via email at williamchisholm@zoominternet.net.