Seven Bruin residents are running for three four-year seats on the borough council while two run for mayor in the May 20 primary election.

Four borough council incumbents in Steven McCandless, Curtis File, Patrick Snow and Kevin Smth and former mayor Donny Claypool are running for borough council seats against two newcomers, Peggy and Steven Emery. All are running for four-year terms, while an open two-year seat remains vacant for write-ins.

Member of the Bruin Volunteer Fire Department fire police Chris Rieder and welder Chris Smith are running for mayor.

The winners will proceed to the November ballot where they will likely be uncontested. No Democrats are running in the race.

The borough has a population of about 446 people and encompasses about 1.8 square miles. It’s located in the Karns City Area School District.

Attempts to reach Donny Claypool, Kevin Smith and Peggy and Steve Emery were unsuccessful.

Chris Smith — Mayoral candidate

Chris Smith, who’s running for mayor against Chris Rieder, said he’s from Bruin and works as a certified welder teaching welding and fabrication to court-adjudicated youths. He’s consistently attended Bruin meetings for more than a year and represents the borough at water authority meetings. He’s also a board member of the water authority.

Chris Rieder — Mayoral candidate

Chris Rieder is a member of the Bruin Volunteer Fire Department fire police. Chris Rieder declined to answer questions from the Butler Eagle.

Steven McCandless — Council candidate

Steven McCandless, a Bruin resident for eight years, said he’s served on the Bruin borough council for about three years. His position as a full-time road worker in Fairview Township helps him bring ideas to both Bruin and the township. He grew up in Unionville.

“The local businesses can use all the local support they can get so the resources remain local and don’t have to look elsewhere, and hopefully, that will drive more business to the area,” he said.

Patrick Snow

Patrick Snow, another candidate running for reelection, grew up in the Petroleum Valley. He moved to Colorado to work for a pharmaceutical company before moving to the Valley Forge area to work at a hospital. He then moved back to the Petroleum Valley and has been retired for several years.

“The biggest accomplishment for being on the Bruin borough council in the past is staying in the black with the voting on various things,” he said.

Curtis File

Curtis File said he’s served on the Bruin borough council for about three years and owns Files Auto Parts LLC and File’s Garage on Bruin Main Street. He serves as the borough council’s vice president, following in the footsteps of his father, Rick File, who also served on the board.

“I would like to believe I have made a difference in our park and overall safety of our community, which I take pride in,” he said.

Smith: “I want the position of mayor because I want to make a difference in Bruin and for our residents.”

McCandless: “I lived next to a blighted/abandoned house and was fearful that a neighborhood child would get hurt or worse due to the dangers of the property.”

Snow: “I am running once again because I care about the community and the people in it.”

File: “I have lived in Bruin my whole life and this town has a lot of good people in it. There is a lot of history here. I am proud to be a part of this town and the hardworking people that live here and I’d like to keep it this way.”

Smith: “Bruin is a great community. It has minor issues with crime, and speeding is a big issue, and lack of police presence. I want to work with police to get more of a presence in our community.”

McCandless: “The biggest issue I think would be is getting people interested/involved to help bring issues up to the council, so they can get taken care of or at least going in the right direction and be able to return this town to its former glory.”

Snow: “The fight for the looks of our borough with trying to make property owners responsible for properties that are in unsafe conditions.”

File: “I think the only issue we have is getting people involved in our community.”

Smith: “My goals are to make the community stronger as a whole (and) bring local businesses and residents together to support our community.”

McCandless: “If I’m elected my goal is to continue cleaning up blighted/abandoned properties to make it a safe place for people to want to move to and stay.”

Snow: “Some of the goals when elected are the demolition of condemned properties (and) the continued maintenance and upgrades to our borough streets. Continuing support of the Pennsylvania State Police on fighting the substance abuse in the area. Trying to get the speeding problem in our area (down).”

File: “If I’m elected my goal is to keep improving the town, the park and the safety of the community.”

More election coverage can be found here.