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Business owner challenges 4 incumbents in Democratic primary for Vandergrift Council

Emily Balser
vndbriancarricato
Brian Carricato
vndpetebasile
Pete Basile

Four incumbent Democrats want to continue the work they've started while a challenger hopes to shake up the leadership on Vandergrift Council this year.

There are four seats up for election this year.

Brian Carricato, Lenny Collini, Frank Moliterno and Christine Wilson have all served on council for two or more terms and say they aren't finished.

“Every year, we take a step forward and get better and better,” Carricato said. “We just want to continue to move forward.”

Carricato, who has served on council for 14 years, said he'd like to keep working to get the town's finances in a better place and bring more young people to the borough.

“I think the financials are the most important part of any town,” he said. “With what we have, we are extremely, extremely conservative, extremely responsible.”

He said the current council has been able to keep the budget balanced and avoid tax increases.

Collini has served on council for eight years and wants to continue to improve the parks and pool as well as clean up abandoned buildings and cars.

“I'm hands-on,” he said. “If I can't get it done, I'll go do it myself.”

Collini wants to pursue more grants and get the whole town involved in improvement projects.

“The door is always open, but they've got to walk in,” he said.

Moliterno has been on council for 18 years and wants to get the streets repaved and in better condition. He said he's proud of the grant money council got several years ago to pave streets, but acknowledged there's more to be done.

“I try to help a lot of people out,” he said. “When people talk, I listen, but I'm only one person.”

He also wants to work to combat blighted homes.

“There's a lot to do,” he said. “You've got to go after the landlord.”

Wilson has served on council for more than 30 years and said she has developed good working relationships with county and state officials.

Her main goals, if she gets re-elected, are to get streets paved, apply for grant funds and try to remove the penalty fee on residents' sewer bills.

She said residents have been penalized for stormwater overflows, but officials have been working to reduce those by having people remove roof drains and separating sanitary and storm sewers.

“We were able to obtain $6 million in grant money to offset the mandated sewer project,” she said. “Now, our goal is working on getting that penalty removed.”

The incumbent Democrats' challenger, Pete Basile, hopes to get a chance to make his mark on Vandergrift.

Basile, a small business owner, hopes to attract more businesses to the area.

“Little niche shops would be ideal,” he said. “Get people who own properties, who are able to lower their rent a little bit, to get people to come to Main Street.”

Basile also has experience with grant writing from his days as a police officer that he hopes to bring to council.

He said the current council is full of good people, but they are too much like a family.

“It's time for a change,” he said.

Republican Casimir Maszgay, a retired borough policeman and current code enforcement officer, is unopposed for the Republican nomination to council.

Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-226-4680, emilybalser@tribweb.com or on Twitter @emilybalser.