After being appointed to serve the remainder of Sara Jane Miller’s term, Jennifer Bryan is seeking her first elected term as a Tyrone Borough council member. Bryan is seeking another four years on Tyrone’s governing body.
“I have really enjoyed serving on council and I am thankful for this opportunity,” said Bryan. “I wasn’t really into politics, but I now have a better understanding of how government works. The borough is different from business. I enjoy working with people and want to give back to my community. I want to make a difference.”
Of the matters that are facing council, the one that is probably most important is hiring a new borough manager.
“I am looking for someone with experience,” said Bryan. “I believe that our manager should be someone who will go out and meet the public. Someone who the people know that their office is always open to them. Someone who will listen and follow up on questions asked of them by the citizens. I will look at their credientials and degrees, but we need someone who can write grants, find the monies that can help our comunity.”
Since the closing of C-Cor, Norfolk Southern’s Hollidaysburg shops and Westvaco in the past few years, jobs are also a priority.
“We have to look at working with the surrounding communities,” said Bryan. “We only can offer the Dixon property for industry. Hopefully something will get done with the Westvaco property. Looking into making those Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones is a great idea. It is a shame to see Westvaco sitting there idle. We need to make Tyrone more condusive for people to come here.”
Part of what makes Tyrone attractive to people is the location on I-99.
“We have to take advantage of I-99,” said Bryan. “The taxes are lower here than in many of the surrounding communities. Tyrone will be a short drive to State College and is a short drive from Altoona. We need to take advantage of our location. Tyrone is a wonderful town and it has warm, wonderful people. Our community showed that when we did the community build project at Reservoir Park. It was great to see the community work together. We are continually striving to expand our community. We are seeing a start of business picking up.”
Bryan addressed the executive session issue.
“I want to state that in executive session, nothing is brought up that can be brought up in public session,” said Bryan. “I know that it seems like the public meetings are cut and dry at times. It gives the impression that things are done in executive session. Our solicitor is there and will tell members of council that a subject can or can’t be brought up in executive session. We just finished negotiations with our police union and that has been ongoing since before I got on council. We only discuss personnel or legal matters in executive session.”
Bryan is willing to talk to the public about any of their concerns.
“Anyone has the opportunity to come to any of our meetings,” said Bryan. “I believe that the people don’t utilize their council members enough. The people should feel free to call any council member at home. Feel free to ask the mayor questions. There is a lot of misinformation that gets out. Any member of council is willing to answer questions the best way we can. If we can’t answer the question, we will get you to the person who can answer it.”
Community involvement is the key to Tyrone being successful, according to Bryan.
“We get our best ideas from the people in the community,” said Bryan. “The best ideas come from the workers in business and the same holds true in government. The best ideas come from the people we are serving.”
Bryan will be on the Democratic ticket for Tyrone Borough Council in the May primary.
