Five candidates seeking Democratic nomination in Brownsville council primary
Five candidates, including two incumbents, are seeking the Democratic party nomination in the primary for four seats on Brownsville council.
Incumbents, James Lawver and Ross Swords Jr. are seeking re-election. Ronald Bakewell, a Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp. (BARC) board member, John E. Unrue Jr., the borough Ward 3 constable, and Robert F. Kovach have entered the race. The council positions have four-year terms.
Two current councilmen, John Hosler and Charles Perkins, are not running for re-election.
Swords, a lifetime borough resident, is seeking his second term in office. He is a constable, a volunteer firefighter at Brownsville Fire Company 1, vice president of the Brownsville Neighborhood Watch and works as a conductor for Norfolk Southern Railway Corp.
“My first term went by so quick. I want to finish what I started,” Swords said. “Brownsville is at a turning point right now.”
He said he wants to continue working to revitalize and update downtown and offering support to the police department and its K-9 program.
Swords said he helped secure funding for the K-9 program, which operated without the use of tax dollars in its first three years. He said is trying to obtain funding for construction of a recreation center for area youth.
“They have one in neighboring township, but I think one would be beneficial here. It’s one of my goals, Swords said.
Lawver, council president, has served on council since 2008. He said he wants to continue supporting the revitalization projects underway or in the funding application process. “I feel I have some unfinished business to take care of,” Lawver said.
That business includes plans to build a park and stage in Snowden Square downtown, an application for a $50,000 state grant to restore Dunlap Creek and a proposed tax credit financing plan to construct a 24-unit apartment building for seniors and retail shops on Market Street.
Grants and private contributions helped expand the idea into a $300,000 project involving a stage and a park.
A decision on Trek Development Group’s application for $7 million in tax credits to finance the senior housing project is expected in June, he said.
“We’re on the move. There’s a lot of positive things happening that I’ve been a part of and I want to finish what we started,” Lawver said.
There will be at least two new council members next year because two incumbents are not running for re-election. Lawver said he is willing to work with anyone.
Unrue is a former union electrician who said he moved to Brownsville nine years ago from Washington County to live closer to most of the jobs he worked on. If elected, he said he would look for ways to attract new businesses and help existing businesses.
“People talk about the drug problem. The bigger problem is the economic problem. If people had jobs they wouldn’t be selling drugs,” Unrue said.
He said a few residents from Fayette County landed jobs at the Walmart in West Brownsville after it opened a couple years ago, but the store has not produced major economic benefits for the borough.
“All Brownsville has is drug stores and taverns. I think we really need to look at how we can get businesses in town and try to help the businessman more than we are. I’ve seen many businesses come and go. They try, but no one helps. Maybe some tax changes might help,” Unrue said.
He said he would be watchful of council’s spending. Council purchased an employee time clock that reads fingerprints, but a clock that punches time cards probably would have been cheaper, he said.
“Do we really have to spend that kind of money for a fingerprint time clock. They could buy regular one cheaper for only five or six employees. I don’t see the benefit for just a few employees. It’s ridiculous what they’re spending money on,” Unrue said, adding he didn’t know the cost of the clock.
Potholes are a perennial problem, he said. “A few little changes could be beneficial. It’s been nine years and nothing’s really happened. Same old potholes on the same old streets and the same old people doing the same old things. I haven’t seen any changes at all in the borough since I moved here except for a few demolitions,” Unrue said. “I want to try to make the place a little more liveable, a little more presentable for the kids growing up in this area.”
Bakewell was born and raised in Brownsville and lived in Ohio for a time before returning. He was a member of the Brownsville Historical Society board of directors for about 20 years.
He said he retired from a sales and marketing career and has a business degree from California University of Pennsylvania.
Bakewell said he would like to see some of BARC’s projects completed and try to stimulate downtown development.
“If I get elected I hope I can continue some of (BARC’s) projects they have going and start some for the borough itself to stimulate some economic growth and attract new businesses downtown, ” Bakewell said. “If I can help accomplish that, I’d be happy.”
BARC has renovated historic downtown buildings and is trying renovate others to sell them for commercial use.
“I like the little town. I’d like to see some growth and keep the momentum going. If I can just finish projects BARC started and help develop downtown I’ll be very happy. I’m not a politician by any means. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem,” Bakewell said.
Kovach did not return calls for comment.