2 Greensburg Council members face challenger in Democratic primary

Greensburg voters will have a choice among two incumbents, Randal Finfrock and Sheila Brumley, and challenger Gabrielle Stewart when nominating candidates for two open City Council seats in the May 16 Democratic Party primary.

Finfrock, 72, is seeking his fifth term on council, where he serves as director of accounts and finance.

Now retired, Finfrock was manager of Atlantic Financial Savings & Loan for 12 years. He also was director of enrollment management at Westmoreland County Community College for 25 years. A life member of Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department, he served on Greensburg’s planning commission and recycling task force and helped draft the city’s home rule charter.

Brumley, 52, was appointed to a council vacancy in September 2020 and is seeking election to a full term. She is council’s director of parks and recreation. She has served on a steering committee for improvements to the city’s Spring Avenue Park, a project slated for construction this year.

She operates a business that makes custom-painted wood signs and home decor. She is president of the Greensburg Salem Education Foundation and serves on the event leadership team for Relay for Life of Westmoreland County.

Stewart, 39, serves as development and events coordinator for Greensburg-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region. Also a cat rescue volunteer, she switched to nonprofit work after 10 years of employment in finance.

She chairs the new business committee for the Greensburg Business and Professional Association.

Stewart said the city’s recent Shape Greensburg comprehensive plan update, developed with public input, is an ideal guide for council to reference in addressing the needs and priorities of its constituents.

She noted improving the city’s walkability is a top item in the plan.

Stewart said better sidewalks should be a priority for the city — along with other pedestrian safety measures, such as use of street crossings adapted for those who are visually impaired.

Speaking at a recent city candidate forum organized by the Greensburg Business and Professional Association, Stewart suggested city officials need to be more transparent regarding public spending and should establish “a direct line of communication” with Greensburg’s business community.

City Council should work to “make Main Street a place where people want to go and work, open businesses and socialize,” she said.

Stewart suggested a shared working space that allows multiple companies to share services, such as a copy machine, could be “a great way to use retail space” where there are vacancies in downtown Greensburg.

She said she is experienced in writing grants and claims Greensburg missed a recent opportunity to land police funding because it did not apply for a grant.

“We can do better,” Stewart said. “There are resources out there we can take advantage of.”

Finfrock said he had considered not seeking an additional term on council but ultimately decided he wanted to continue on the panel to help the city through financial challenges that have come with the covid-19 pandemic.

While the city is in “fairly good financial shape,” Finfrock said, he noted it is “not exempt from inflation” or pandemic-related supply chain delays.

“I just can’t walk away until we get on the other side of this,” he said. “I know how to use capital debt and revenues, and how to do it for the best value for the city.”

Finfrock said the city has taken steps to make things easier for those who want to develop and operate businesses downtown. He noted it eliminated some red tape for developers in 2019 when it disbanded the Historic and Architectural Review Board.

To attract more people to the business district, Finfrock said, “We need more events downtown. I’d like to have one a week.”

Addressing those who dread getting a parking ticket, Finfrock suggested reestablishing a courtesy box that would waive the fine if motorists enter their ticket within 15 minutes of receiving it.

Previous courtesy boxes “were vandalized, and the technology failed,” he said. He proposed placing a new box outside City Hall, where surveillance cameras might help curb vandalism.

Brumley said she would like to see creation of a community center in the city.

“I have a design in my head, but we need money,” she said, adding she would not want to see such a project financed by raising taxes.

Brumley said Greensburg has a good variety of businesses and restaurants, as well as events organized by the business association. She suggested vacant retail space might be used for pop-up shops or holding events such as bridal showers.

She added that she is open to talking to business owners to learn what concerns they may have.

Brumley has jointly campaigned with fellow city incumbents Finfrock and Mayor Robb Bell. She said the sitting Greensburg officials have made progress on behalf of the city and should be given the opportunity to continue their work together.

“The mayor and council need to work as a team,” she said. “We need to work together and get things done.”

GOP candidate alone on ballot

Carrie Hamley, 45, is unopposed on the Republican ticket.

She operates home-based businesses and recently began work as a clerk in the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds Office. She is a member of the Republican state committee.

A mother of three school-age children, Hamley said concerns about blighted properties and the need for better recreational options for kids helped prompt her to run for council.

She acknowledged that the city is working with county officials to address run-down structures in town. But, she said, “We need to continue to develop that program. We have houses that are falling down.

“We need to take a stauncher approach when out-of-town investors are involved. Maybe we can turn those spaces into things like community gardens or just a small gathering place — something positive.”

Hamley also is worried about drug activity taking place in abandoned houses and needles and other paraphernalia being left in city parks.

The city needs to address some infrastructure issues, including inadequate storm drainage, Hamley said. She said she and her co-workers sometimes report to work with soaked shoes.

“We have to cross rivers in order to get into the courthouse,” she said.

She suggested Greensburg could use a European-style boutique hotel that would give visitors a base for enjoying such assets as The Palace Theatre and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

“We have a lot of things going for us,” she said.

Police issue addressed

At the public forum, all the candidates responded to a question asking how they would work to restore the reputation and integrity of the city police department following the January arrest of the former police chief on federal charges. Shawn Denning, 42, of Delmont is accused of acting as a middle man to connect a confidential police informant with drug suppliers in California.

“There’s no reason to restore the integrity of a department that has operated almost perfectly since then and before then,” Finfrock said, referencing the arrest. “There’s no reason to target an entire department.”

“People, when this issue happened, maybe didn’t feel so safe,” Stewart said, indicating officers could allay those feelings with community outreach.

“I don’t want to lump everybody together,” she said of the members of the police force. “I think there are very smart people there in the Fraternal Order of Police who are helping to move things along.”

Hamley said she also supports having events where “the cops can come out and interact with people.” She said city officers have responded well to complaints in her neighborhood.

“We don’t have a bad police force,” Brumley said. She noted just one citizen appeared at a council meeting with questions following Denning’s arrest and resignation.

“I feel, if there was a major issue, we would have people knocking down our doors,” she said.