Hempfield man announces second bid for Westmoreland commissioner

A former retired executive from Hempfield announced this week he will seek election as Westmoreland County commissioner.

John Ventre, 65, said he will run in this year’s Republican primary and is targeting first-time incumbent Doug Chew as his chief opponent this spring.

Chew and fellow first-term Republican Sean Kertes are expected to run for re-election, but neither has formally announced their campaigns.

Ventre, a former security and public affairs executive at UPS in New Stanton, finished third in a seven-person race, behind Kertes and Chew, in the 2019 Republican primary for commissioner.

“There’s going to be an opening because Doug Chew didn’t follow through with his (campaign) promise to donate 60% of his salary. I don’t think the public is going to let him off the hook,” Ventre said.

Following his primary loss, Ventre endorsed Chew’s candidacy during the fall 2019 general election.

“I was hugely disappointed,” Ventre said. “You can add that I’ll withdraw from the race if Doug donates the approximately $200,000 that he promised.”

During the 2019 campaign, Chew pledged to donate 60% of his salary to help finance the county’s drug court. County officials late last year confirmed Chew had made no donations during his first three years in office.

On Friday, Chew dismissed Ventre’s criticism and his candidacy.

“John Ventre has run for office unsuccessfully nearly a half-dozen times. When voters take him seriously, I will,” Chew said.

Ventre positioned himself as a Republican candidate for governor last year and claimed to mirror the platform pushed by the eventual GOP nominee, state Sen. Doug Mastriano. Ventre failed to qualify to appear on the ballot last spring.

He said his second run for county commissioner will focus on his plans to re-evaluate Westmoreland’s comprehensive plan for growth, attract new business and promote local tourism. He said he also wants to take a critical look at Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County operations and criticized the current commissioners for allocations of covid-relief funds, saying more should have been dispersed to small businesses and residents.