Mascara challenges incumbent Squires for Westmoreland treasurer post
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The race for Westmoreland County treasurer features a two-term incumbent and a newcomer with a political pedigree.
Republican Treasurer Jared Squires, first elected in 2011, is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Matt Mascara.
The treasurer’s office is responsible for overseeing money collected and disbursed by the county. The office also collects the hotel rental tax, handles boat registrations and sells dog licenses as well as permits for hunting, fishing and the operation of small games of chance.
“We receipt all the money that comes into the county, and we write all the checks the county issues,” said Squires, 42, of Mt. Pleasant Township. “We make sure the bills are paid and payroll is met.”
The county treasurer also serves as chairman of the Westmoreland County Records Improvement Board and is a member of the retirement board.
A native of Jefferson City, Mo., Squires grew up in New Jersey and holds undergraduate degrees in physics and accounting from Drexel University and Franklin University respectively. He has a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Florida.
A job with the Westinghouse Electric Corp. brought him to Western Pennsylvania in 2003. He has lived in Mt. Pleasant Township since 2011.
Squires began thinking about local politics while operating Elite Settlement Services, a real estate title agency. “I thought I could take my experience as a small-business owner and make some positive changes,” he said.
Squires said his strengths as a candidate are his incumbency and his background in business. “I know how my office should be run to be able to keep the costs to a minimum but still offer the service that the residents of Westmoreland County rely on,” he said.
Squires oversees a staff of nine — five cashiers, two deputies, an office manager and a solicitor — on an annual budget of nearly $600,000. “We’re the least expensive row office in the county,” he said.
If reelected to a third term Nov. 5, Squires said, he wants to continue to stress customer service and good relations with the public. His office recently launched credit card service at the front counter.
Squires is married and has four children.
Mascara, 22, of Rostraver, said he has no quarrel with the way Squires has run the treasurer’s office but believes the office can benefit from new blood.
“I think I can serve the people and continue that fire that started in me at a young age,” he said.
Mascara’s grandfather, the late Frank Mascara, was a longtime U.S. congressman from Washington County, and his uncle, the late Mark Mascara, was a longtime Washington County commissioner and common pleas judge.
“Public service has been a part of my life from the very beginning. It was a message that started with my grandfather and has never left me,” he said.
A lifelong resident of Westmoreland County, Mascara graduated from Belle Vernon Area High School in 2015 and from Saint Vincent College with a degree in political science in 2019.
A volunteer firefighter with Latrobe Fire Hook and Ladder Company 2, Mascara also works with his family’s property management company.
“I was raised in this county; I was educated in this county; now I want to serve this county. I know what the people here want and how to serve them,” he said.
Mascara said he would like to make the treasurer’s office mobile by making services available on-location. He also wants to ensure that senior citizens receive all available benefits from government programs and to bring a “streamlined” approach to technology and transparency, he said.