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Seats in three Bellefonte Borough wards on ballot

By From Staff Reports 7 min read

BELLEFONTE -- The League of Women Voters of Centre County once again compiled capsules for area races, including Bellefonte Borough Council.

The material seen here was compiled by the candidates and the League of Women Voters of Centre County (LWVCC) with assistance from the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. Each candidate's reply has been printed as submitted by the candidate.

Candidates were invited to participate in the Vote411 online voter's guide via email. All reasonable efforts were made to encourage candidates to participate.

Nothing should be construed as an endorsement or non-endorsement of any candidate, party or initiative by the League of Women Voters or The Express.

WARD 1

Douglas A. Johnson

Douglas A. Johnson, a Democrat, is looking to retain his seat on Bellefonte Borough Council. Johnson currently serves as president of the board. He graduated from Bellefonte Area High School, US Army Signal School and Course Work Job related at Penn State University.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: 1. Downtown Bellefonte pedestrian safety by adding crossing signs with rapid flashing beacon at critical crosswalks within the Borough. Along with safety, more due diligence regarding enforcement of sidewalk repairs.

2. Renovations to the recently purchased Armory building at the corner of North Spring Street and West Lamb Street. Funds for the purchase and renovation were generously provided by recently retired Senator Jake Cornman. The goal is to renovate the existing Bellefonte Police space and move the Borough staff to the Armory building. Armory renovations include installation of an elevator, fire protection and accessibility entrances to the building.

3. Installation of traffic signal at Parkview Boulevard and Route 550, East Bishop Street. This project now needs to be coordinated with the Bellefonte Area School District and the new owner of the former National Guard property. Council and Borough staff will continue to work with all stakeholders, including PennDOT.

WARD 2

Randy Brachbill

Randy Brachbill, a Republican, was elected to borough council in 2014, representing the borough's south ward. He previously served as council vice president and on the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs Board of Directors in 2019. Brachbill has served in various capacities while on the board including the Safety Committee, Streets and Building & Property committees. Additionally, he's represented Bellefonte on the Civil Service Commission, Nittany Valley Joint Planning Committee, Centre Region COG Public Safety Committee and Bellefonte Fire Department Executive Committee. Brachbill is a lifelong resident of the Bellefonte-area graduating from the Bellefonte Area School District and Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: 1. 2022 Bellefonte Borough Council collaborated on the development of an annual Goals Action Plan. Council Members are able to add/remove goals at any time. Residents are welcome to submit goals they feel are important. Selected goals move to work sessions for discussion then to the next business meeting. The process is monitored. Goals not completed roll over to the following year.

2. 2022 Bellefonte Borough adopted Priority Based Budgeting using the General Budget. This process requires the Council's review of the information provided by department heads.

3. 2022 Bellefonte Borough approved dropping committees in order to work as a whole Council. This change has worked well for holding discussions of various items/issues.

My personal goal is to support our residents and the borough. I respectfully ask South Ward VOTERS to re-elect me as your representative to the Bellefonte Borough Council, thank you.

Deborah Cleeton

Current council member Deborah Cleeton, a Democrat, is looking to retain her seat representing the borough's south precinct. Cleeton is a State College Area High School graduate.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) currently provides three unique yet integrated levels of service to/from Bellefonte. Continued access to these services is vital for our community as it is the most cost-effective means of transportation for access to work, school, medical facilities and food resources. Our residents need reliable access to the many services and retail locations located outside the Borough. Funding for Borough operations is always a challenge. After Property Taxes, the Earned Income Tax provided by our working residents is a primary source of revenue. Bellefonte is a delightful community to live in. Whether a resident is a home owner or tenant, for our community to thrive we need to ensure that residential housing is available. One of my responsibilities as a Council representative is to make informed recommendations to the Borough. I will continue to make use of the multiple opportunities available to improve my knowledge of Borough operations.

WARD 3

Christopher Morelli

Christopher Morelli, a Republican, is looking for a term on Bellefonte Borough Council, representing the third ward.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: 1. I'll serve ALL residents and ALL businesses by ensuring any matter that comes before the council fairly serves our entire community, by scrutinizing requests to ensure they benefit all and that the cost, if any, can be incurred without raising taxes. If a request doesn't meet those requirements, I will vote NO.

2. I will support all initiatives that best serve the safety of our police and emergency responders and that allow them to efficiently and effectively perform their duties.

3. I will work to remove borough government overreach due diligence and actions for any and all unnecessary ordinances, or exclusionary programs, especially those that were created and implemented to only benefit specific individuals in our community. One such program is the free electric vehicle (EV) chargers that the borough (tax payers) now pays the electric bill for. I will work to fix this elitist abomination day one.

Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Joanne Tosti-Vasey, a Democrat, is looking to retain her seat on Bellefonte Borough Council. Tosti-Vasey was elected in 2015 and served as council president from 2018 to 2021. Tosti-Vasey has served on various committees including the Bellefonte Police Pension Committee, local Cable Consortium and the Spring Creek Watershed Commission. Outside of council, Tosti-Vasey has served as vice-president of the Bellefonte Historical Preservation Foundation, chair of the Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commissions and as Parliamentarian for the Women's Caucus of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. She's also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Health Care for All Pennsylvania. She's also served in multiple capacities with the National Organization for Women. She holds a Bachelors in Clothing and Textiles from Virginia Tech., a Masters in Family Counciling from Virginia Tech. and completed Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: 1. I believe in transparency and open communication between the council and our community members. Ensuring our representatives honor this transparency and act on the community's wishes while balancing all community concerns is critical for a vibrant and welcoming community. Community surveys, like Bellefonte's current Sustainability Survey, are very helpful here.

2. We need people on the council who believe in equity for all and treat everyone with respect. My 30+ years as a community organizer and advocate for equity would help ensure that the council considers these issues when making decisions affecting the lives of our community members.

3. I want to continue representing the West Ward to address historic preservation and sustainability. Sustainability includes environmental sustainability; creating a vibrant economic community; improving the infrastructure for the well-being and safety of all; quality educational opportunities; gender and racial equity; and reducing poverty, hunger, etc.

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