There are seven candidates for the four Tyrone Borough Council seats that will be contested in this November\u2019s election. Bill Fink of Washington Avenue will be running on the Republican ticket in the May primary.
\n\u201cThe reason that I have placed my name into consideration for election to the Tyrone Borough Council should be apparent to all the citizens of Tyrone who follow the activities of our elected officials,\u201d said Fink. \u201cThe Home Rule Charter form of government was designed to permit the election of the Borough Council as well as the mayor\/council president at large rather than by wards. This was designed to make them responsible to the entire electorate and not to a select few. The charter was also adopted to ensure the appointment of a professional Borough Manager who will supervise the day-to-day operation of the borough. We all have seen over the past several weeks since the resignation of the full time Borough Manager how the duties and responsibilities of that position have been farmed out within the borough leadership when the Charter presents viable options that are being ignored.\u201d
\nFink is retired from the position of Federal Security Manager at Washington Dulles International Airport following 35 years of service. He is a 1964 graduate of Tyrone Area High School.
\n\u201cI believe it is time to open the doors and windows of the Borough building and let some fresh air in,\u201d said Fink. Let\u2019s shed some light on all this backroom politics that takes place in these so called \u2018executive sessions\u2019. These are meetings that you and I are not permitted to attend. Council meets prior to and following the stated public meetings or at other times designated by them. These sessions in most cases go on longer than the stated public meeting, yet there are no records kept of their proceedings nor is the public privileged to any of the deliberations that go on there. The stated public meetings are where Borough business must be discussed. It shouldn\u2019t be discussed behind closed doors. These executive session meetings resemble the old television series \u201cGet Smart\u201d and his \u2018Code of Silence\u2019 used to prevent others from hearing.\u201d
\nFink believes that the discussion among council members should be in the open.
\n\u201cBelieve me when a meeting of the council lasts only 13 minutes, there isn\u2019t much deliberation about anything. Deliberation is basically any discussion conducted for the purpose of making a decision. Deliberations that don\u2019t take place in the stated public meeting leave me wondering where do they take place.\u201d
\nFink also spoke of the lack of attendance by the public at council meetings.
\n\u201cI completely understand why Tyrone residents do not attend council meetings,\u201d said Fink. \u201cWhen they do attend, they are ignored and in some cases told that if they don\u2019t like the way things are done in Tyrone, they can leave. When they address the council about an issue or concern, their question is ignored or referred to a contract employee who provides political rhetoric. I believe that you elected people to conduct your Borough business in a manner that benefits you. I believe the folks you elected should be answering your questions or concern, not a contract employee.\u201d
\nFink would like to see more Tyrone residents attend the council meetings.
\n\u201cYou the taxpayer not only have a right to attend council meetings and address your concerns and comments to your elected officials, it\u2019s your obligation,\u201d said Fink. \u201cIf we fail to ensure oversight, if we fail to question or if we think, by ignoring it, it will go away, we\u2019re wrong.\u201d
\nIf elected, Fink would like to see the deliberations in the public forum.
\n\u201cI believe in open and honest government,\u201d said Fink. \u201cIf the citizens of Tyrone choose to elect me to be one of their representatives on Borough Council, I will research and investigate every issue to ensure that it is in the best interest of all the people. All the pro\u2019s and con\u2019s of all the issues will be presented at the stated public meetings along with the opportunity for each and every citizen to question and discuss concerns openly and without fear of reprisal if they desire to do so. This is your electorate and each and every one elected to Borough Council is answerable to you, hold them accountable.
\nFink is running as a Republican for a seat on Borough Council.
\nEditor\u2019s Note: This is the second in a multi-part series informing our readers about the candidates. The Daily Herald will interview each candidate for the positions of Tyrone Borough Council, Tyrone School Board, Snyder Township Supervisor, Antis Township Supervisor, Blair County Commissioner and District Justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are seven candidates for the four Tyrone Borough Council seats that will be contested in this November\u2019s election. Bill Fink of Washington Avenue will be running on the Republican ticket in the May primary. \u201cThe reason that I have placed my name into consideration for election to the Tyrone Borough Council should be apparent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47141\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}