Delmont had to rely on write-in votes to garner enough candidates for council in the Nov. 4 election, and five candidates will compete for four open seats in the borough.

Write-in votes propelled Delmont couple and former council members Julie and Bob Walczer both onto the ballot. Incumbent Republican Pamela Simpson also earned a spot through write-in votes. And while the Walczers are both registered Republicans, Bob only received sufficient write-in votes to appear on the Democratic ballot.

“I look at Export, which ended up getting hundreds of thousands in grants for the town and for their fire department,” said Bob Walczer, 70, who is retired after a career selling medical equipment. “In questioning our council about why we don’t go after these grants, you get the deer-in-the-headlights look. We have a great resource in State Rep. Jill Cooper for smaller communities like Delmont to work with. I think it’s a grave error to not be applying for these grants.”

Both Walczer and his wife said they’d like to do more to draw businesses to Delmont.

“We have no businesses anymore, our sewage bill is double most other neighboring towns,” said Julie Walczer, 74, retired after running a sports store in the borough and working as a photographer. “I think we’re a dying community right now, and I think it’s very sad. I don’t think the council is doing the job they should be doing.”

Incumbent Republican and current council President Andy Shissler said he’d like to focus on expanding recreation options for residents.

“That’s why we’re doing a master plan for Shields Farm as part of our larger recreation plan,” said Shissler, 55, a software engineer and local Boy Scout troop leader. “Developing those for the future will help draw new families to the area.”

First-time Republican candidate Tina Campbell, 61, said she is also dissatisfied by what she sees in the borough.

“Delmont is a really old town, a stagecoach town,” Campbell said. “There’s not a lot of room for growth here, but we do need to make some changes and I don’t see that happening.”

Campbell and the Walczers said they do not support the borough’s recent creation of a stormwater authority to help fund state-mandated pollution-control projects.

“The stormwater authority has made some people angry, and our taxes just continue to go up,” Campbell said.

“We’re paying $103 per month for sewage,” Julie Walczer said. “Now there’s this stormwater ‘fee,’ which is just a tax, as far as I’m concerned. They’re doing it to churches and to the few businesses that we still have.”

Incumbent Republican Pamela Simpson did not file for reelection, but received enough write-in votes to appear on both party ballots. She hopes to continue working for borough residents.

“I’m running just to keep up the good work from the past eight years,” said Simpson, 64. “I’m very proud to have been part of the team that brought the K-9 program back to the Delmont police. I feel like we’ve done a good job and I hope I can continue doing positive things for Delmont.”

Candidates are running for a four-year term on council.

In addition to the council race, incumbent Republican Alyce Urban is running unopposed for another term as mayor.

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