Three candidates are vying for a two-year term on Vandergrift Council.
Democrats will choose among Nick Morgan, Nikol Reed and Michael Reilly in the May 20 primary. No Republicans are on the ballot.
Morgan, 33, is an insurance salesman at Howard Hanna. He’s also on the Vandergrift Business Association Board of Directors and serves as one of the borough’s constables.
Reed, 49, is a training program specialist at CVS Health. She is the president of the Vandergrift Business Association.
Reilly, 68, is a retired security guard and private investigator. He is the president of the Vandergrift No. 1 Volunteer Fire Department and also serves as a borough constable.
Whoever gets the Democratic nomination will likely run uncontested — barring a write-in campaign — and earn a seat on council.
An additional four council seats with four-year terms are up for grabs in the primary.
But only four Democrats and two Republicans have filed for those seats, meaning all will advance to the November general election, again, barring a successful write-in campaign.
Council members typically serve four-year terms, but the departure of John Uskuraitis last year created the need for a two-year term. Bryan Young, who was appointed to replace Uskuraitis, is not seeking election.
Communication between elected officials and the public is a top issue among candidates vying for Uskuraitis’ old seat.
Council drew criticism in late 2023 and into 2024 for rolling out an event policy without extensively consulting local business owners and festival organizers.
Similar critiques have emerged as the borough attempts to enforce an annual fee on landlords that some say hasn’t involved enough public input.
“When council implemented the event policy, it was done in a way that wasn’t very collaborative,” Reed said. “I’ve been thinking, there’s got to be a better way to be collaborative with the community as a council.”
Reed said she would always have a question in the back of her mind when voting: “Is this good for our businesses, or is this trying to make a couple hundred bucks for the town?”
She also is proposing more frequent social media and website updates to keep residents informed of borough affairs.
Morgan expressed similar sentiments, noting “there have been plenty of times where things have come up that no one knows about.” He called the ongoing process to pass a rental licensing ordinance a “debacle,” and questioned why officials haven’t been more active in gathering community input.
“I think community involvement and just discussing things openly is a key thing,” he said.
Less critical than his competitors, Reilly said council is doing a fine job, though “they need to be a little bit more accessible.”
He feels his main contributions would lie in his skills as an organizer and networker as well the extensive list of contacts he’s built as a lifelong resident.
“I’m more than happy to admit I don’t have the answer to everything,” Reilly said, “At the same time, I’m not afraid to ask somebody who does.”
Reed’s other priorities include supporting small businesses — she would step down from her business association post, if elected — and cleaning up town, in her words, by combating drug use.
“With VBA (the Vandergrift Business Association), I feel like it’s making a difference, but this is maybe sort of an expansion of that,” Reed said.
Morgan is concerned with public safety and wants to raise police pay in a bid to reduce turnover.
He also wants Vandergrift to run some festivals of its own or rent out recreational assets, like Kennedy Park, as a means of generating revenue. Individual businesses or community groups currently run Gathering on Grant, Artfest, Oktoberfest and other popular events.
“That would bring people in who are interested in the town, help bring in revenue for the city to make these improvements and repairs they’re talking about … instead of delaying and delaying,” Morgan said.
In addition, Morgan said he’d prioritize code enforcement and helping the owners of historic downtown buildings obtain restoration funds.
