A retired PPG worker, Kenneth Conrad is seeking a seat on Bellwood Borough Council.
Conrad, who ran unsuccessfully for office in 1968 believes that there should be new blood on council.
“It is time to get some new faces on the council,” said Conrad. “I believe that people who haven’t been involved in politics should do so.”
Conrad believes that the borough needs to work on attracting business to Bellwood.
“We have to look at what we can do for business,” said Conrad. “I believe that Bellwood and the rest of the communities in the area need to see what they can do. For example, the Martin General Store on Main Street is a great place for a small business to locate. By attracting business to the borough, it will enhance the tax base and help out the senior citizens.”
Conrad believes that the recent approval of the LERTA zone for Bellwood Borough is a good thing to lure business.
‘We need to offer tax breaks to help bring business in to Bellwood,” said Conrad. “I believe that it is a good policy to offer tax breaks too lure new business into Bellwood. When a new business opens, you have the spin off jobs that come with it. There are supplies, janitorial services, phone and communications that will spin off more jobs. It is more than just the one job that is made. The spin off jobs benefit everyone.”
Conrad believes that working with the Northern Blair Rec. Center needs to be discussed and brought to council.
“I believe that we need to sit down and discuss the Rec. Center,” said Conrad. “It is something that needs to be brought to council if we are going to do any funding support. You can’t ask too many questions about the issues. The more questions you ask, the better you are at making an informed decision. Hopefully through working together on the Rec. Center, we can have more interaction between the communities.”
If elected to council, Conrad plans to speak his mind.
“It is time to get people who are willing to speak their mind,” said Conrad. “If elected, I will be big enough to admit if I am wrong and will talk and listen to the people. There are too many people in politics who tell the people what they want to hear. I believe that if you are upfront, people will respect you more. I believe that the council members need to get to know the people and the people need to get to know their council members.”
Conrad is on the Republican ticket in the November election.
Editor’s note: Yesterday it was reported that Conrad and John Gunsallus would be running against each other. Conrad and Gunsallus are two candidates that are running for three open seats.
