5 candidates vying for 4 seats on Fox Chapel council

Five candidates will vie for four open Fox Chapel council seats in the Nov. 2 general election.

One Democrat and four Republicans are seeking four-year terms, according to Allegheny County Office of Elections records. Two incumbents are seeking reelection, and three newcomers are in the race.

Here are the responses to Tribune-Review questions posed to each candidate:

Sarah Hanna

Political party: Democrat

Age: 39

Education: Bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America.

Occupation: Integrative Health Coach.

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

“If elected, I look forward to immediately collaborating with fellow council members, borough staff, the police department and residents to identify and prioritize the needs of our community,” Hanna said.

“It is important to me that we carefully listen to one another and learn from each others’ perspectives so we can set realistic and achievable goals that ultimately make our borough a stronger community.”

A second short-term goal would focus on increased safety through better communication, Hanna said.

“As a mother of three school-aged children, an avid hiker on our local trails and the wife of a runner, it is essential to me that our community streets remain safe, particularly along our beautiful winding roads and trail heads,” Hanna said. “I look forward to partnering with our new police chief to formulate a better communication plan to help community members become more mindful of pedestrians, as well as alert residents of any local acts of crime so that we can all be more helpful to one another.”

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

“One long-term goal is to further the Fox Chapel traditions as a wildlife and nature preserve,” she said.

“Our community was founded with the commitment to conserve our wooded lands, streams and parks. As technologies advance, I would like to see our community set the bar for environmental sustainability so that we can ensure the needs of today while planning for the future generations.”

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

“I plan to communicate with constituents through email and my personal cellphone regularly,” Hanna said.

“The residents of Fox Chapel are my neighbors, my friends and my community. I hope each and every resident feels welcome to participate in our local government. Should I be elected, I will be proud to serve as a voice of the community members, ensuring all residents are heard.”

Hanna said she would like to initiate opportunities where council members host regular “coffee and conversation” gatherings for residents, “where we can as a community connection in person.”

Andrew C. Bennett

Political party: Republican

Age: 60

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College; Master’s of Science in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

Occupation: Business owner, Bennett Supply Co.

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

“To continue my work as council president to ensure that differing political views do not begin to control Fox Chapel governance,” Bennett said. “We have seen the divisive impact and the negative results that political party alignment is causing at the national level.”

Politics should not be a part of local municipal government, Bennett said.

“Local government members should be listening to all of the residents and acting in the best long-term interest of the Fox Chapel community at large.”

Bennett said a second short-term goal will be to focus on the completion of the vast renovation of the public works department facility, “a multi-year project to position the borough for the next 30-40 years.”

And, he said, “to assure appropriate support to the police and fire departments as the borough’s highest priorities are to maintain the infrastructure and to provide security and safety for the Fox Chapel residents.”

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

“I would like to use my long-term experience — over 20 years on borough council — and the knowledge I have gained as a business owner to continue to manage the business that is this borough, keeping Fox Chapel the premier community and municipal role model it has been for so many decades,” Bennett said.

“It is one that we all cherish as a wonderful community where we live and raise our families.”

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

“We will continue to encourage residents to participate in our many committees, including parks, environmental advisory, zoning and joint comprehensive, and to express themselves at monthly borough council meetings, to contact borough staff with ideas or to communicate directly with any council or committee members through email,” Bennett said. “Due to advancement in technology, residents can now participate in all of our public meetings either in-person at the borough building or virtually. We will also continue to update our website to keep it informative, interactive and user-friendly along with our Fox Chapel newsletter that is mailed to all residents on a quarterly basis.”

Bradley D. Harrison

Political party: A registered Republican who won the GOP nomination; he also won the Democratic nomination through write-in votes.

Age: 42

Education: Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy; Master’s of Science in Engineering Management from The Catholic University of America.

Occupation: Manufacturing business owner and executive.

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

“Improving communication between the borough and residents is an immediate short-term goal I would plan to pursue,” Harrison said.

“In our current technological era, residents expect and deserve to know information about the activities and decisions of our local government in real-time as much as possible.”

“From service contracts to street paving plans to more serious issues affecting public safety and welfare, improving the mechanism to give and receive timely communication between the borough and our residents is a goal I will work tirelessly to achieve.”

A second goal would be maintaining safety, he said.

“In conjunction with input from borough residents, public safety officials, other council members and borough staff, another short-term goal I would plan to pursue is maintaining a high standard of safety across the borough,” Harrison said. “From meeting with residents throughout the campaign season, I heard frustrations about certain intersections, particular roadways where the speed limit is repeatedly ignored and the lack of transparency and communication when the rare burglary happens.”

“With a military and manufacturing background, continuous improvement is a key tenet of my leadership style,” Harrison said.

“We are fortunate to live in a tremendous community but there are always areas that can be improved and communicated about in a more effective manner. As a community public servant, I would owe it to our residents to strive for improvement in the realm of public safety and how shortfalls are communicated to residents as well as what our local government is proactively doing to prevent the occurrence of repeatable problems.”

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

“Fox Chapel was founded as a wildlife and nature preserve, and if elected, I would pursue maintaining this tradition,” he said. “It is one of the important facets that draw many to choose to live in our community.

“The tree coverage, the streams and parks, the trails, the wildlife, it all is Fox Chapel,” Harrison said. “This tradition of conservation must continue as a long-term goal while pursuing sustainable development with adherence to rigorous review processes, ordinances and committee recommendations.”

“With an eye on natural conservation, Fox Chapel must continue to move towards being a welcoming place for young families pursuing an excellent education for their children on top of a safe, sustainable, forward-thinking and wonderful place to live,” he said. “As a neighbor said when we first moved to the area, ‘Welcome to the forest.’

“This succinctly sums up my long-term goal for our area on so many levels. Neighborly, welcoming and conservation are the Fox Chapel way.”

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

“As a servant leader, I would plan to be as accessible as possible to constituents,” Harrison said. “Emails, personal cellphone calls and face-to-face meetings are all vital communication tools that I would plan to use.”

Harrison said he would also explore options for improved communication by meeting with neighboring municipalities and the North Hills Council of Governments, along with “academia and industry” to ensure that residents are included in the decision-making process as effectively as possible.

“An updated communication software platform would create an informed, included, up-to-date and educated constituent base regarding borough activities,” Harrison said. “Positive constituent services are essential to a high-performing government body, and if elected, I would embrace the role of not only being a voice of the community but also an in-road to our local government.

“A government of, by, and for the people should faithfully serve the residents, and I would do my best to do exactly this.”

Harrison S. Lauer

Political Party: Nominated by Republican and Democratic parties. Party affiliation: Republican

Age: 63

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Harvard College; law degree, University of Pittsburgh.

Occupation: Attorney; former CPA.

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

“We will complete projects that I have helped create on council,” Lauer said.

That includes “enhancing and beautifying McCahill Park and our newly purchased Hardie Valley Park,” Lauer said. “The hike from the river to Beechwood Farms that passes these two settings will be unforgettable.”

Other projects include finishing a program to rebuild every street in the borough. “Our roads will be in the finest shape ever,” he said.

Also, he would focus on constructing the new public works garages that will “enable the team to continue their top-notch service” and continuing to refurbish sewers and help keep the rivers clean.

A second goal, Lauer said, is to “continue our successful financial performance that over the past four years has included securing over $3 million of public grants, maintaining balanced budgets and retaining a real estate tax rate that is in the lowest 12 percent of municipalities in Allegheny County.”

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

“When I am reelected, one of my long-range goals is to complete the borough’s joint comprehensive development plan that we are preparing with O’Hara Township and implement at least five major initiatives that will enhance our communities,” he said.

Lauer said the issues being targeted are:

- Expanding and interconnecting the communities’ parks and walkable and rideable trails.

- Improving traffic flow through enhanced signaling, turning lanes and other devices.

- Implementing stormwater management systems to reduce water damage and flooding and to protect properties.

- Creating a joint zoning ordinance to facilitate combined land uses across the municipalities.

- Improving and beautifying the commercial district which services both communities.

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

“On council, we serve the residents and must hear and understand their concerns to lead properly,” Lauer said. “In turn, our constituents need to be informed of what council is doing to effectively participate.

“As a leader of the borough over the past decade, my teams have implemented steps to invite participation by residents including opening all of our meetings to our constituents by Zoom, making meeting recordings and information available on the borough’s website, creating email addresses for council members to facilitate access to us and distributing our quarterly newsletter to the home of each resident.”

Council will invite residents to identify community issues in public meetings as part of the comprehensive plan, Lauer said.

“I will also be suggesting implementation of technology platforms such as a communications app to provide notices of events and updates to residents,” he said.

Michael D. Pohl

Political party: Republican

Age: 26

Education: Bachelor’s degree in history and Master’s of Science in Management, both from the University of Notre Dame; Firefighter I, Pennsylvania State Fire Academy.

Occupation: Treasury manager, Payments & Operations, Dick’s Sporting Goods.

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

Pohl said his first goal is to avoid tax increases.

“The borough has committed to a number of significant cash obligations in recent years and taken on debt for the first time in its history,” he said. “The promise of grants to cover some expenses is great but there are also many more expenses on the horizon to maintain our roads and excellent services. I want to ensure council does not overspend on ‘nice to haves’ and then leave residents to foot the bill for ‘need to haves’ in the form of higher taxes.”

A second goal would be to seek counsel to perform a legal audit of the borough’s ordinances and personnel training materials.

“Ordinances must not conflict with state or federal statutes and the borough must not violate the rights granted to its residents by the state constitution,” he said.

“This also means that borough personnel at all levels must be informed of their limits of power and authority.”

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

“Allowing borough residents to live their lives as freely as possible,” Pohl said. “Want to install solar panels on your house? Go for it. Need to cut down trees on property you own? Do it. Looking to make your driveway bigger? Let’s make it happen.

“If residents wish to improve or maintain their properties as they see fit, then council and all borough personnel should be making such efforts less costly and less burdensome to navigate,” Pohl said.

“Our fellow residents who serve on council and its appointed subcommittees, as well-intentioned as they may be, must not make restrictive ordinances or determinations pertaining to the property of others based on personal taste or opinion.

“My goal is to always give residents more freedom rather than less, because you know what is best for your house, your land and your family,” Pohl said. “Fox Chapel is a municipality, not a homeowner’s association.”

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

“Observing council and committee meetings over the past few years, I recognize that some residents are very active on social media while others are not,” he said.

“Some residents diligently read every piece of mail received and others do not. Some residents subscribe to Nixle while others are not even aware it exists.

“When making significant decisions that affect a large number of residents, I would strive to seek input from residents through multiple channels to ensure all voices are heard.”

“I also recognize that there are residents who are not engaged with council on a regular basis, and that is fine, but when contemplating a decision that affects a large number of residents, the opinions of those who are quiet matter just as much as those who are extremely vocal.”

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