Two incumbents are facing a former city employee for two open seats on Jeannette council.

Former chief fiscal officer Michelle Langdon, 64, is seeking to unseat one of the incumbents — Nancy Peters, 74, or Chuck Highlands, 81.

Langdon and Highlands won the Republican nominations during the spring primary and Peters secured the Democratic nod. The three candidates are seeking four-year terms on council. Members are paid $1,200 annually.

Highlands

Highlands has been a council member since being appointed to his seat in January 2016 before winning election in 2017. He previously served on the board during an appointment in 2005 but then didn’t seek reelection. He is a retired vice president of Harris Transport.

He is pleased with the progress the city has been making in the past few years. Development has been picking up steam in town with more investment turning dilapidated or empty buildings into viable structures.

Elliott Group recently opened its new cryodynamics testing facility on property that previously housed Jeannette Glass, and Sobel’s Obscure Brewery is continuing renovations at a Clay Avenue building. Other projects are under way, and officials are hoping to create a more appealing environment in the downtown business area.

“I just hope things go along and we develop more of the downtown area,” Highlands said. “There are a lot of things in the works now. There’s a lot of bright things.”

If re-elected, Highlands said he hopes to tackle more of the blighted, abandoned properties that need to be demolished.

“I like to think that I’m very proactive for the citizens — if it’s good for the public that’s usually the way I vote,” he said.

Langdon

Langdon worked as the city’s chief fiscal officer and clerk for about five years before retiring in December. She now does accounting for small businesses. That background gives her a unique qualification as a candidate, she said.

“As an employee, I could only do so much,” she said. “Now I want a vote so I can make more positive change.”

Langdon hopes, if elected, to have council meetings videotaped and make information more accessible to the public.

“We need small businesses; we need to roll out the red carpet for small businesses,” she said. “I want to encourage the Jeannette Business Association to be even a stronger force within the city. They have a lot to offer. They need more cooperation from city hall.”

Langdon filed a discrimination complaint through the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in June against the city. In it, she claims being harassed and discriminated against starting in 2018 by elected officials and other city employees.

Langdon told the Tribune-Review she was “compelled” to file the complaint after winning a nomination during the May primary. She and Highlands were the only two Republicans on the ballot.

“It is my hope that the citizens of Jeannette understand my pursuit to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions and words,” she said. “I am not ashamed nor will I discontinue my quest for accountability and justice.”

City solicitor Tim Witt said the complaint is “being reviewed and vigorously defended against.”

Peters

Peters was elected to the board in 2017. She previously was the city’s recreation commission director and agreed there has been good movement regarding development over the past few years.

“Right now, there’s a lot of positive happening … here in the city,” she said. “I’d like to see those kind of things continue.”

She pointed to moves this year — the addition of two employees to handle code enforcement and property maintenance — that are making a difference in blight and problem properties.

“We’ve had a lot of good movement here,” Peters said. “That’s been one of the biggest positive things here in the city.”

Westmoreland County public works director Greg McCloskey, who is an interim director of the elections bureau, confirmed Peters worked as judge of elections during the May primary, something that is not allowed for council candidates. Peters has notified the bureau she will not be working in that capacity during November’s general election, he said.

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