Hardy serious about running for commissioner
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa developer and 84 Lumber Co. magnate Joe Hardy is serious about a Republican candidacy for Fayette County commissioner, according to the county GOP chairman who met with the multimillionaire for 90 minutes Friday. Christopher D.L. Sepesy said he exited the meeting with the firm impression that Hardy intends to seek his party’s nomination for one of two Republican slots on the fall ballot.
“He seems to be (serious). He’s planning to run as a Republican,” said Sepesy. “It appears he feels Fayette County has been very good to him and he wants to return some of that favor. As well, he told me that he was happy with what we were doing as a party.
“Is he comfortable with what he’s undertaking? It appears he is … So now he joins five other people who have taken out (nominating) petitions.”
Sepesy listed those probable GOP candidates as: Don Miller of South Union Township, John Evans of Luzerne Township, Dave Lohr of South Connellsville Borough, Ken Firestone of Springfield Township and Angela M. Zimmerlink of Redstone Township.
Attempts to confirm Hardy’s candidacy through official channels fell through. Neither Susan McCarthy, public relations director for Nemacolin Woodlands, nor Sherri Bomar, a corporate attorney, returned calls seeking comment over a two-day period.
However, South Union Township-based engineer Terry McMillen confirmed Thursday that he is one of several people circulating nominating petitions for Hardy, a task he undertook at Hardy’s personal request.
“I’m not the only one. He’s got some others. I’m not sure who they are,” said McMillen, who added, “I’m just a minor player, I think.”
Fayette County Commissioners Sean M. Cavanagh, Vincent A. Vicites and Ronald M. Nehls – all Democrats – each said they’ve heard about Hardy’s candidacy through the political grapevine. While admitting that the 80-year-old’s apparent entry into the race came as a surprise, none of them were unnerved at the possibility of facing him in the fall election.
“Maybe he’s doing it for the money,” joked Cavanagh, referring to the fact that the commissioners earn an annual salary in the low $40,000 range. “The first thing that came to my mind is, I’m totally amazed that he would consider running for office.
“It’s a whole new arena, compared to being the head of a company with $2 billion in sales last year, with 435 stores in 34 states.”
Cavanagh said that Hardy would face a “tremendous adjustment” as an elected public official, starting with media scrutiny of his every move. He also postulated that when Hardy files his statement of financial interests – commonly known as the ethics form – reporters would probably get to sift through “a truckload” of documents.
Nonetheless, Cavanagh said that Hardy has done good things for the county economy and noted that he’d have no problem working side-by-side with him as commissioner – although that would be ironic since Cavanagh was once employed as a Nemacolin busboy in the early 1990s.
“Joe Hardy has invested millions of dollars and created thousands of jobs,” said Cavanagh. “I think he’s been good for Fayette County.”
Stylistically, Cavanagh said he respects Hardy as a fellow “no-nonsense person,” adding, “I think the only difference between Sean Cavanagh and Joe Hardy (is) a billion dollars and his being a Republican.”
Vicites said that Hardy has a right to run for office, which is the hallmark of democracy. But the current commission chairman said he remains focused on winning his third consecutive Democrat primary and isn’t wasting effort on what may happen on the GOP side.
“I’ve heard he’s running. Nothing surprises me in politics,” said Vicites. “I’m just focused on the Democrat primary. I focus on the task at hand and the Democrat primary is my priority.
“I don’t have a problem with anybody running for office. It’s anybody’s right to run. That’s what democracy’s all about.”
Vicites said that he knows about the same as the general public about the potential Hardy candidacy. But he reiterated that his main concerns remain his day-to-day duties as commissioner and his own re-election effort.
Nehls, who currently plans to run as a Democrat in the primary, said that he doesn’t quite know how to react to Hardy’s potential entry into the commission race. Nehls praised Hardy’s contributions and stature in the community, but said some people think his candidacy is a farce.
“I couldn’t imagine that we could find a better person to run the county (than Hardy), because of his tremendous success,” said Nehls. “But from what I’m hearing on the street, a lot of people think it’s a mockery, because they don’t believe it.
“I’m a little shocked myself, that someone with that professional background would want to get involved with this (job).”
Nehls said he also finds it interesting that the names of so many potential candidates are surfacing, considering that most people he’s heard from commend the current administration for doing a good job.
Sepesy also termed Hardy’s entry into the race a “surprise,” but added that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a “pleasant surprise.” Sepesy said that since taking over the county GOP two years ago, he’s promoted a “pro-growth, pro-business strategy,” a model that fits Hardy as well as the other potential Republican candidates.
However, he refused to christen Hardy as the GOP frontrunner, noting that the field won’t become official until the March 11 filing deadline.
“I don’t ascribe frontrunner status to anyone until I see who’s actually running,” said Sepesy. “Certain candidates have advantages that others don’t, but others may have advantages that the first don’t.
“That is the story: He’s circulating petitions. Candidacy comes when filing occurs.”
According to the Fayette County Election Bureau, Hardy is a registered Republican in Wharton Township District 1. Those records show he became a registered voter in Fayette County in 1995.