Four Democrats are vying for a chance to run for three open seats on Latrobe City Council.
Robert “Stuffy” Forish, Thomas Horwat, John “Jack” Murtha and Fabian Giovannagelo will face off in the May 19 primary. The three top vote-getters will then run against Republican Eric J. Bartels in the November general election.
Robert “Stuffy” Forish, a firefighter who served from 2010 to 2013 on council, said he wants to continue serving city residents.
“I am not done seeing what I can do in the city of Latrobe for the working people,” he said.
Forish said he would encourage the use of the city’s transfer station for recycling, as he did during his previous term.
“The facilities are there and it can be done,” he said.
Vacant and dilapidated properties have to be addressed before new businesses will want to occupy space in town, Forish said.
Thomas Horwat, running for the first time, said filling vacant storefronts would be one of his priorities.
“We’ve got to fill them up, that’s what we’ve got to do,” he said.
Horwat said the city needs to continue to work together to fight drug use in the city.
“We have a good town, we have a good police force” to combat the problem, he said.
John “Jack” Murtha, a firefighter who served on council in the early 2000s, said resources that draw from the surrounding area, such as the B&D Creekside Activity Center, could make Latrobe more of a destination.
“There wasn’t any tax dollars spent, but now (the activity center is) bringing people in to Latrobe,” he said, suggesting adding another attraction, such as an ice hockey rink. “If we had a couple things like that, it’d be great.”
Murtha said he supports working with the Westmoreland County Land Bank to address dilapidated properties.
He said the addition of K-9 Officer Rocky has gone a long way to make Latrobe safer.
“We all know there is a drug problem and I think the police are doing their best,” he said.
Fabian Giovannagelo, current council member and firefighter, did not return requests for comment or biographical information.
Bartels, a Norwin High School social studies teacher, moved to the city after marrying his wife, Melissa, a Latrobe native.
Stacey Federoff is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-836-6660.
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