5 candidates vying for 3 seats on Springdale Council

Five people are seeking three seats on Springdale Council in the Nov. 7 election.

Incumbent Republicans Dan Copeland and Shawn Fitzgerald Jr. face challenges from Mark Stanton, a Republican, and Dolly J. Stephens, a Democrat. Joe Kern, a registered Republican, is running as a write-in candidate.

Council seats are four-year terms.

Joel Anderson is cross-filed and is running unopposed for mayor, succeeding Joe Bertoline. That seat is a two-year term.

Copeland, 41, previously served a term on council and was appointed in April to fill a vacancy. He is the owner of CLC Paratransit and serves as assistant fire chief of the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department.

Copeland oversees the borough’s water department. Since his appointment about six months ago, he said the water department’s revenue is down almost $700,000. During his stint on council, he led the repeal of an ordinance that factored into the deficit and replaced it with a new ordinance that sets a level rate for all water usage in the borough. He said he also is leading improvements in the water plant.

“I want to see that the borough is in a good financial state,” he said. “It’s very vital.”

Copeland recommends forming a committee of two council people and the borough manager to handle responsibilities such as reviewing permit applications. Doing so would make actions more transparent among council members, “which, in turn, would make things more transparent to the public,” he said.

“I’m a hard worker. I’m dedicated to the borough. I’ve lived in the borough of Springdale my whole life. … I’ve dedicated my whole life to the borough,” he said.

Fitzgerald, 31, said he would support Copeland’s proposed committee. Fitzgerald works as a loan servicing specialist. If reelected, he said, he wants to make sure that whatever fills the space of the former Cheswick Generating Station is a benefit to the community and is in the best interest of residents.

“I enjoy getting to learn more about my community in this role, and I just want to continue the work I’ve been able to do with Agan Park and the Council of Governments,” Fitzgerald said.

He is council’s chairperson for the Agan Park committee, a joint effort with Cheswick. The park has been improving, Fitzgerald said, and he wants to remain on council to help it become “the jewel of the Valley that we all know it can be.”

As council’s representative to the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments, he hopes to continue landing grants for projects.

Fitzgerald said he brings to council the ability to listen, ask questions and communicate with people — and he is cognizant of being a good steward to taxpayers.

“I think I have been beneficial to our community,” he said.

Mark Stanton, 70, served on council in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He said he is running for council again because he believes his experience could help the borough.

Stanton works for Building Inspection Underwriters of PA and once served as Verona’s interim borough manager. When he was on Springdale Council, he became knowledgeable about the water department, streets, budget process and finances, he said.

“You have to be able to listen to people, let them talk. I believe in open government … see that the public is kept in the loop on everything,” Stanton said.

Regarding the power plant implosion and permitting process, Stanton said he wants to make sure proper procedures are followed in the future. He believes council has done a good job and wants to ensure there is adequate funding for the ambulance service and volunteer fire department.

“I’d like to see borough services continue and continue to be top-notch,” he said.

Joe Kern, 40, said he was prompted to run for office after seeing the impact the June 2 smokestack implosion had on the community. He is among the 16 borough residents who have filed an injunction to block the planned implosion of the former power plant’s boiler house.

The owner of Kern Painting and Maintenance, Kern said people in the community encouraged him to run for council.

“I think it’s very vital that we have someone on there that pays attention to small, minute details,” Kern said.

If elected, Kern said, he would work on bringing more community and family-oriented events to Springdale, as well as improving infrastructure in the borough. He also said he would be transparent and honest and would put the community’s interests before his own.

“Ultimately, I just want to improve the community,” he said, noting he also would want to work with the surrounding communities to improve the Lower Valley as a whole.

“I’m honest. I’m a family man. I 100% would put the interests of the many before the few. I wouldn’t put my own interests before the residents’,” he said.

Stephens did not return multiple calls requesting comment.