Former Snyder Township Supervisor Charles Diehl earned the Republican nomination for the supervisor position by defeating sitting supervisor Ray Rodgers and Bernie Sherwin in the May primary.
Diehl, was defeated by James Daughenbaugh two years ago and is currently serving as the chairman of the Northern Blair Regional Sewer Authority. The Republican candidate believes that this election is crucial to the future of the township.
“We are starting to see some growth in Snyder Township now,” said Diehl. “The future of Snyder Township will be changing as we get closer to the completion of I-99. The little bit of growth that we have seen thus far is the precursor of things to come.”
In June when The Daily Herald reported on the future of Interstate 99 and its impact on the area, one of the points that was brought up by Pat Miller of ABCD Corporation was the lack of zoning in the townships.
“We need to address land management in the township,” said Diehl. “The people need to decide what they want. I have an idea, but I am not on any personal agenda. I want to serve the people and give the people what they want. If we don’t get some sort of zoning into place, the township is going to turn into a dumping ground for different things.”
Diehl praised the recent work of the supervisors concerning land management.
“The Comprehensive Plan for the township and the look at zoning is starting to be addressed now,” said Diehl. “The thing with this is it will take another year or two until it is completed.”
Diehl looks for the people of the township to give input to what the supervisors act on.
“We need people to attend these meetings and get involved,” said Diehl. “We need good common sense in the township government. I am willing to talk and listen to the people of the township and act upon what they want.”
Diehl also believes that better cooperation is necessary for the Northern Blair County area to thrive.
“This is the 21st Century,” said Diehl. “You can’t isolate yourself from others. Tyrone Borough can’t survive without cooperating with the surrounding townships. There needs to be inter-government cooperation and in the past that hasn’t happened.”
Snyder Township recently voted to designate a LERTA zone in the township. Diehl believes that there is a limit to what government can do for business.
“There has to be a limit on what we do,” said Diehl. “Someone has to eventually pay for the services that these companies use. The people paying can’t strictly be the homeowners. The supervisors need to weight the benefits to the majority not special interests. This election has a lot of issues at hand that effect a lot of people. If the people want me to serve, this election will tell the tale.”
Diehl has been a lifelong resident of Snyder Township with the exception of his service in the military in the 1940s.
“I just want to give back to the township that has been good to me all my life.”
