Only one of four Monroeville council seats will have a competitive race in the Nov. 4 election.
Democrat John Washington and Republican Gary DeLorenzo will vie to represent Monroeville’s Ward 3, which roughly encompasses the north-central and north-east corner of the city.
“I’m primarily an Independent person, politically, but I needed to pick a party to be in the primary,” said DeLorenzo, 73, who’s lived in Monroeville for the past 38 years.
“There are three things I’d like to help residents with,” DeLorenzo said. “I’ll fight to protect residents’ interest in the redevelopment of the Monroeville Mall, I’ll fight against any new taxes, and I’ll fight to make sure our police have the resources they need to protect our community.”
DeLorenzo said his background puts him in a position to try and make his hometown better.
“I’m not a career politician,” he said. “I’m an independent problem-solver and I want to help people here in Monroeville.”
DeLorenzo will square off against Democrat John Washington, a self-employed contractor who has lived in Monroeville for the past three decades.
“I never really aspired to be a politician, but some people have reached out and convinced me that I might be a good choice,” he said. “I think the biggest challenge we have is maintaining the level of services people have come to expect in town, from police to fire to public works. With a declining tax base, and considering that we’ll probably lose some businesses with what’s going on at the Monroeville Mall, there’s going to be a big shuffling of resources in the next couple years.”
Washington said he may be running as a Democrat, but can see the big picture from both sides of the political aisle.
“I want to come to conclusions and solutions that work best for everyone involved,” he said.
Incumbents Joseph Hyzy (Ward 1) and Mike Adams (Ward 5) will run unopposed, and newcomer Allison Ramsey will run unopposed for the seat being vacated by Councilman Dennis Biondo.
Biondo is running unopposed for Monroeville mayor.
