Councilman to appear on ballot
Washington Councilman Terry Faust filed to run in the November election as an independent after being excluded from the primary ballot.
In March, Common Pleas Court visiting Senior Judge John Reed of Mercer County ruled the incumbent, current head of the parks department, would not be included on the Republican ballot after a group challenged the filing date of Faust’s statement of financial interest, more commonly known as an ethics form. Reed found Faust failed to file a timely statement.
Faust, who first took office in 2008, said he briefly considered not running but ultimately decided to get on the ballot to continue improvements to the city.
“There’s always that thought (not to run), but there are some things I’d like to see finished that I started,” he said.
Some projects he would like to see through are the $1 million refurbishing of the pond near Washington Park pool by the Army Corps of Engineers, renovation of the pool bath house and completion of a dog park.
Faust said he and his fellow council members have accomplished numerous objectives during his tenure, including the annexation of 176 acres in Washington Park from South Strabane Township in 2010 and getting out of a large deficit.
“Seven-and-a-half years ago, our credit was so bad, we couldn’t obtain a credit card,” Faust said. “We’ve come a long way.”
Susan Koehler, Washington’s deputy finance officer, said the city now has a stable credit rating.
“We’re doing pretty good,” Koehler said. “We’ve really turned things around.”
Two seats on City Council are up for grabs. Monda Williams, who ran unopposed on the Democratic ticket, received the nomination in the primary. Georgia Ballentyne, who was unopposed on the Republican ticket, received her party’s nomination. Current Councilman Kenneth Westcott, who withdrew from the Democratic race when his ethics form filing was challenged, received 195 write-in votes, also putting him on the ballot.
“We’re going in a positive way,” Faust said of the current council. “That’s very rewarding.”