Win-win
Fike praised for appointing Sileo to panel
Mayor Ed Fike’s appointment of former mayor James Sileo to the board of the city’s redevelopment authority has the potential to be a win-win for everyone.
All early indicators point to Sileo being a very good fit for the redevelopment authority, where he will replace Muriel Lantz, who the board will honor by naming her an emeritus member of the board for her 20 years of service.
Fike, who defeated Sileo four years ago, said he reached out to the former mayor a few months ago about the possibility of serving on the authority’s board.
“I told him, ‘Sure. I love this city, and I’d do anything for it,'” said Sileo. “I’ll do whatever I can do for this city. I love this city. This is my home. I was born and raised here. I want to see it grow.”
There’s no doubt that Sileo brings significant experience in local governance to the table – 12 years as mayor and eight more on city council.
While the move has political undertones with the mayor seeking re-election this year, Fike deserves credit for trying to take advantage of the experience Sileo gained during his 20 years in government.
“I don’t believe you can buy that kind of knowledge,” Fike said.
The appointment was somewhat unexpected given that Fike spent much of his first term blaming the previous administration for the city’s woes, although he claims the criticism wasn’t aimed directly at Sileo.
Sileo, for his part, admitted that the city’s finances could have been managed better during his tenure. But while you can question the former mayor’s wisdom in dealing with finances, there never has been a question that he truly cared about the city and its residents, and that’s why the appointment has merit.
The former mayor does seem to have a good handle on what the city needs to do in the future. He said more development is needed to reduce property taxes and stop families from moving to neighboring municipalities with lower taxes.
He commended the authority for spearheading recent residential development efforts, such as the new single-family homes being built on Maple Street and the new 36-unit Uniontown Senior Housing apartment building on North Gallatin Avenue, noting more steps need to be taken in that direction.
Let’s hope that Fike takes advantage of Sileo’s experience and they can work together for the betterment of city residents. Fike should be commended for reaching out to his former political foe, and Sileo deserves credit for accepting the olive branch. It says a lot about both men that they were able to put aside their political differences and put the fate of city residents ahead of their own personal emotions.
You don’t see this happening very often. For the most part, losing politicians fade into obscurity, taking with them valuable governmental experience.
Uniontown has significant issues and solving them will not be an easy task, which is why we need all parties working together. The Fike-Sileo partnership is certainly a good step in that direction.