3 vying for GOP nomination in Gilpin supervisors race

Three Republican candidates are vying for one nomination in the GOP primary race for the Gilpin Board of Supervisors.

Incumbent Jeremy Smail faces challengers Renee E. Hileman and Justin Rishel in the May 18 primary.

Smail, 38, has served on the board since being appointed to fill a vacant seat about 18 months ago. In running for reelection, he said his top priority is to encourage growth and development, especially in the business district.

“Seeing new businesses being brought in or maybe seeing buildings that are empty right now coming back to life,” Smail said.

Other policy goals cited by Smail include working to keep taxes low and getting creative when it comes to balancing the township budget.

Smail is a real estate investor and retired teacher, with a bachelor’s degree in education. Before becoming a township supervisor, Smail said he served a short stint on the Leechburg Area School Board after being appointed to fill a vacancy on it.

Smail said he is motivated to give back to the community.

“I just thought that I could do good,” he said.

Hileman, 57, said she hopes to be “a voice for the people (and) to hear what they want, what they hope to accomplish, changes that they want to make.”

Among her priorities, Hileman said, is reevaluating the township’s property taxes. A licensed real estate agent for NextHome Dynamic, Hileman believes she holds an expertise on taxes and property assessments and sees herself as an advocate for property owners.

Gilpin supervisors voted to raise property taxes by 70% in 2020. Before the vote, Hileman said she had knocked on doors and garnered more than 100 signatures opposed to the measure.

“They still raised the taxes, but I attempted,” she said. “And that made me want to get on the board so I can be even a bigger voice.”

Hileman serves as president-elect on the Greater Alle-Kiski Board of Realtors, where she said she’s involved in decision-making related to taxes and property. She previously served two terms on West Leechburg Council. She resigned when she moved out of the borough to Gilpin.

Before entering real estate, Hileman was a dental assistant for 13 years. She has a degree in dental hygiene from the University of Pittsburgh.

Rishel, 43, said he was motivated to run for the board as a way to get more involved in the community. He moved to the township about a year ago.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve the community,” Rishel said. “I just hope that we can take what it is and make it even better.”

Rishel is a steel worker at Allegheny Technologies Inc., though he said he is exploring different career paths in light of the recent contract dispute and strike. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in business administration from Seton Hill University.

Rishel said he would like to “drill down into the budget” and find alternatives to what he described as the township’s high tax rate. He also wants to find ways to encourage businesses and homeowners to move to, and remain in, Gilpin.

“I’m an advocate for change, and, from the people I’ve spoken to in the township, they’re asking for change. So, I just hope I bring to the table my work ethic, my educational background and my motivation to try to see what I can do to help improve things,” Rishel said.