Westmoreland County commissioner candidates push drug court to fight opioid epidemic

Editor’s note: Candidates for Westmoreland County commissioner discussed their views on various subjects with the Tribune-Review, which will be published weekly leading up to the Nov. 5 election.

The fourth installment features excerpts of the candidates’ views on how they plan to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic, which has produced record numbers of fatal overdoses in the county. A video of their full responses can be seen at TribLIVE.com.

Doug Chew (R), 49, of Hempfield

“In my plan, I would give back 60% of my salary, turning my commissioners salary into something that most people in Westmoreland County can relate to. That 60% that I’ll give back to the county, I want to use to increase funding to the drug court.”

Sean Kertes (R), 33, of Greensburg

“The commissioners, what we can do is the drug court, to keep that going and get it funded as well as overall aspects at just looking to what needs done and what areas are impacted from an education standpoint.”

Ted Kopas (D), 46, of Hempfield

“We need to build upon the drug court I founded and expand upon that to give more folks a different pipeline, not in the jail but into treatment.”

Gina Cerilli (D), 33, of Hempfield

“I wish that we had an abundance of money to throw at this, but, as a county, we don’t. As a county commissioner, what I can do is talk about it as much as possible and remove the stigma that exists.”

Voters in November will elect three county commissioners. Incumbents Cerilli and Kopas are joined on the ballot by challengers Kertes and Chew.

Cerilli is seeking her second term in office. Kopas was appointed to the board in 2010 and elected to his first full four-year term in 2011.

Kertes works as the chief of staff to Commissioner Charles Anderson, who is retiring at the end of his term.

Chew is a biochemist who previously worked as a Pitt faculty member and now serves as a self-employed grant-writing consultant. He is making his first run for public office.

Other issues already addressed by the candidates include:

Oct 3: County finances and taxes

Oct. 11: Quality-of-life strategies to increase Westmoreland County population

Oct. 19: Economic development plans