O'Hara council has a mix of contested, uncontested races depending on ward

Editor’s note: The Herald is featuring candidate interviews in contested municipal and school board races only.

O’Hara has some contested and uncontested races for council seats, depending on the ward, in November, according to Allegheny County Elections Division records.

Democrat councilman Richard Hughes and Republican Anthony Santucci are competing for a four-year seat in Ward 1.

Democrat councilwoman Olivia Payne and Republican Heather Elizabeth Bell are competing for a four-year seat in Ward 4.

Democrat council president Cassandra Ross Eccles and Republican Melissa Fanto are competing for a four-year seat in Ward 5.

Democrat councilman George Stewart is running unopposed for reelection in Ward 2.

Council vice president Mark Hammill is running unopposed in Ward 3.

He won the Republican nomination in the May primary and earned enough write-in votes on the Democratic side to be on both ballots in the general election.

Here are responses from the candidates to questions posed by TribLive:

Richard Hughes

Age: 62

Democrat

Education: Master’s (MA International Relations, MS Environmental Science & Policy)

Occupation: Retired

Community involvement/volunteer work: Engaged with Friends of the Riverfront, Allegheny Cleanways, Chapel Harbor community gardening and improvements

Years residing in district/municipality: 11

With state funding often limited, how would you balance the need for new projects or services with the responsibility to keep taxes manageable?

“As a council member for the past four years, I can attest to the exceptional financial management and stewardship of O’Hara Township. While state funding is limited and becoming more so, we are also facing the consequences of a recent Supreme Court case that has allowed businesses to greatly reduce their taxes. In the face of this pressure, we have only increased the millage rate once in the last 5 years and maintain one of the lowest tax rates in the County. To manage these challenges and not only maintain but increase our level of municipal services, we have continued to apply for and receive significant grant funding from a wide array of sources. We are also currently working on ways to improve the utilization of RIDC that would increase our tax revenue and allow us to continue to maintain low municipal taxes.”

What is the most pressing issue/challenge in the municipality today and how do you plan to address it?

“The two highest priorities for the next four years are continuing to surmount the financial challenges we face while maintaining an attractive, livable and healthy community. To do this, I bring experience working in community development, conservation and public health around the world for over 30 years, managing multi-million-dollar programs in the most challenging circumstances. We will continue to invest in ensuring the highest standards of service and public safety – social services, police, fire and EMS. Stormwater management, which impacts our public infrastructure and people’s homes and daily lives, is essential, as is improving and expanding on our parks and recreation facilities and trails. We also must continue looking forward and finding ways to improve our resilience and our ability to respond to major events like the microburst this year, which took down so many trees and power lines.”

Anthony Santucci

Republican

Did not respond to the questionnaire and several follow-up messages by presstime.

Olivia T. Payne

Age: 50

Democrat

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University in nonprofit leadership and organizational management

Occupation: Executive and wellness coach, Realtor

Community involvement/volunteer work: Volunteer with Dress For Success Pittsburgh, International Coaching Federation, Pittsburgh Chapter — Treasurer, United Way of Southwestern PA, Women United Member

Years residing in district/municipality: 8

With state funding often limited, how would you balance the need for new projects or services with the responsibility to keep taxes manageable?

“The council partners with the O’Hara municipal staff to ensure we are running a balanced budget every year. The municipal management team constantly works to make sure we secure grant funding to pair with our already allocated funds. This way, we aren’t overspending on projects. As a member of council, I commit to working with the township manager and their staff to ensure this practice is followed for every relevant project. As a former non-profit operations and finance professional, I know what it takes to build and balance a budget and prioritize the projects that are integral to keeping the trains running.”

What is the most pressing issue/challenge in the municipality today and how do you plan to address it?

“One of the most pressing issues that I’ve heard about from residents, and experienced myself, is the number of power outages in the area. This affects surrounding communities as well, such as Fox Chapel. A lot of the outages are due to diseased, dying and dead trees that come down during rain and wind storms. This has been a problem for many years. To work to solve this issue, it will take a multi-agency initiative — O’Hara, Fox Chapel, Duquesne Light and Allegheny County. I believe we can come up with a solution if we work together.”

Heather Elizabeth Bell

Age: 42

Republican

Education: Class of 2001, Fox Chapel High School, degree in human resource management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2005.

Occupation: Stay-at-home mom. Previously, I worked at several Pittsburgh companies, including Del Monte Foods (technical assistant, product development/R&D), Brunner, Inc. (project manager, digital marketing) and most recently American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (product manager, digital innovation).

Community involvement/volunteer work: I volunteer at my children’s school frequently, and am a CFF catechist at Saint Matthew’s parish.

Years residing in district/municipality: Almost all my life

With state funding often limited, how would you balance the need for new projects or services with the responsibility to keep taxes manageable?

“The 2025 budget included a real estate tax increase to 2.4 mills, a 14% hike for the average property owner, to address rising costs in public safety, roads and employee benefits. To prioritize core services, I suggest pausing non-essential projects. For instance, our volunteer fire departments, Parkview VFD/EMS and Pleasant Valley VFC, face staffing shortages, reflecting a statewide crisis in Pennsylvania. Trimming the $450K parks allocation could fund these critical services. Non-essential projects, like the oversized “beach” chair at O’Hara Community Park or the proposed bridge/trail work, could be deferred. To bolster VFDs, we could offer paid incentives or per-diem positions to improve volunteer recruitment and retention.”

What is the most pressing issue/challenge in the municipality today and how do you plan to address it?

“O’Hara Township is not living within its means. A 14% property tax hike and dipping into reserves to cover rising public safety and infrastructure costs signal the need for change. I propose a zero-based budget overhaul, justifying every dollar annually to achieve 10-15% savings by redirecting funds from non-essential projects to priorities like VFD incentives and road/flood/sewage repairs. We can eliminate future tax hikes by 2027 using reserves strategically. Transparency is key — full budgets, bid details and grant trackers should be accessible online via eCode360, with resident surveys for major expenditures. Aggressively pursuing state grants, like Shapiro’s $30M VFD pool for gear and bonuses, is critical. If elected, I’ll champion a “Taxpayer First” agenda focused on efficiency, transparency and community empowerment.”

Cassandra Ross Eccles

Age: 64

Democrat

Education: Carnegie Mellon University, Drama BFA Production/Design

Occupation: Stagehand, studio mechanic (work behind the camera on film, TV series, and commercials), and EMT

Community involvement/volunteer work: Member of the Township of O’Hara Council for the past 12 years, Fire Funding Committee member past 4 years, LAWCC past board member, currently council alternate, Community Swim Club past board member, Pittsburgh Film Office past board membe,r Girl Scouts past troop leader

Years residing in district/municipality: 31 years

With state funding often limited, how would you balance the need for new projects or services with the responsibility to keep taxes manageable?

“The key to balancing the need for new projects with keeping taxes manageable is strong and responsible planning. We can’t afford to depend on state funding alone. I support a proactive approach that includes long-term planning, careful budgeting and aggressively pursuing grants to fund services and new projects.

The Township of O’Hara has already shown that it can keep taxes low while launching projects with or without state support. That’s the approach I believe leads to real, lasting progress for our community. When we do receive state funding, we’ll treat it as a bonus, not a lifeline and always use the state funding wisely and with accountability to our residents.”

What is the most pressing issue/challenge in the municipality today and how do you plan to address it?

“One of the most urgent challenges our community faces is stormwater flooding. This issue poses serious safety risks by blocking essential services and disrupting daily life. The township must continue to prioritize upgrading the stormwater management infrastructure, improving drainage systems, constructing retention ponds and incorporating sustainable solutions such as green spaces and permeable pavements to improve runoff and reduce flooding.

I am committed to working closely with neighboring communities to keep drains clear of debris and ensure trees are properly pruned to prevent interference with electric lines. Storms don’t just cause flooding; they bring down trees and power lines, leading to dangerous power outages that affect our families and local businesses.”

Melissa Fanto

Age: 45

Moderate Republican

Education: Proud graduate of FCAHS, Bachelor of Science in psychology from Penn State University, Master’s in counseling psychology from Waynesburg University

Occupation: School-based mental health therapist

Community involvement/volunteer work: O’Hara Elementary PTO President, Vice President and Board advisor over the past 5 years. Numerous committees within O’Hara Elementary, as well as volunteered time for the Fox Chapel Baseball Softball Association. Volunteer for Girl Scouts. Past board member for the Blue White Ball — A Penn State Dance marathon fundraiser that raises money for childhood cancer.

Years residing in district/municipality: I moved to O’Hara when I was 5 years old. I moved away from the area for 10 years after marriage and returned with my family in 2018.

With state funding often limited, how would you balance the need for new projects or services with the responsibility to keep taxes manageable?

“First and foremost, I will do everything in my power to avoid tax increases, especially given the recent increases implemented by both our current administration and the school board.

Second, when state funding is not available, there are external means that we can access. It’s important not to devalue the services and resources that we have here in O’Hara, many of which can help subsidize projects where state funding cannot. We have an amazing group of residents with numerous talents and I would love to find ways to utilize those talents whenever possible. Through my occupation and community involvement, I am well-versed in working with limited budgets. I’ve learned it’s important to be creative as well as responsible with spending, making sure we get the most out of each dollar.

Ultimately, it’s important to have a community-minded, common-sense approach: to adapt to our future while also preserving our roots.”

What is the most pressing issue/challenge in the municipality today and how do you plan to address it?

“I think one of the most pressing challenges today in politics is the divide. That being said, I believe there is more agreement in the middle than it appears. Over the past years, the middle lost its voice, and I want them to feel heard again. I want to bring us back together and bridge the gap through effective communication and compromise. Ultimately, we all want a community we can be proud of and I think kindness and respect are a great place to start.”