Meet the Candidates for Butler Mayor: Dandoy, Shearer, Donaldson
Two people — a current councilman and former mayor — will be challenging the incumbent mayor, Bob Dandoy, in the upcoming November election.
On the ballot, voters will see Dandoy, who has served as mayor since 2022, as the Democratic candidate and Councilman Don Shearer as the Republican candidate. Additionally, Tom Donaldson, who was previously mayor, is running for another term as a write-in candidate.
Butler’s mayor position is a four-year term with an annual compensation of $10,000. Subscribers can read more.
Bob Dandoy
Before beginning his term as mayor in 2022, Dandoy served on the council and is a past president of Butler Downtown — a nonprofit that aims to encourage cooperation between business and community leaders, strives to improve the appearance of the downtown and promotes downtown Butler.
Dandoy said his biggest accomplishment as mayor was helping to facilitate the$230 million sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority. Proceeds were split between the city and Butler Township.
Outside of the sale, he said he’s helped the city receive funds through grants toward public works projects, such as parks and sidewalks.
He decided to run again because, he said, during his first term, he finished the work of stabilizing the city financially. Now, with the city poised to grow, he said he wants to spend a second term helping to realize those opportunities.
Dandoy said the city has divided its list of projects into needs and wants, and finally, those needs are starting to be fulfilled. Looking ahead, he said he’s beginning to expand his ideas for what might come after those needs have been taken care of completely.
Some ideas he mentioned include a comprehensive park plan to get an overview of the work the city wants to do. He also said he is working on establishing a vehicle replacement plan for first responders and city employees.
Donald Shearer
Councilman Don Shearer has been serving as director of accounts and finance for the city since 2022.
Shearer said his biggest accomplishment as councilman was spearheading the passage of a rental ordinance in the city.
Besides the ordinance, he said he worked behind the scenes to streamline processes that were flagged by an administrative audit.
He decided to run for mayor after he realized his plans for the city require more commitment than he can hold as just councilman.
He said he either needs to “step up or step out of the way” for the next generation.
Shearer said his first priority would be developing a coordinated response between police, fire, the city treasurer’s office and code enforcement to start tackling the blighted properties in the city.
He said he would also like to move the needle forward on some ideas he previously floated, such as community and business investment programs as well as establishing a land bank.
Tom Donaldson
Donaldson was mayor between 2014 and 2018.
He originally ran as an independent candidate, but his nomination petition was thrown out by a Common Pleas Court judge in August after 15 signatures were stricken for various reasons.
Donaldson said during his term he completed numerous projects he believes benefited the city, including the Centre City project, a policing contract and saving Pullman Park from foreclosure.
He said a lot of his ideas were left unfinished, and he hopes he gets the opportunity to complete them now.
He said he would explore retention ponds and a systematic overhaul of the city’s drainage system for stormwater management, and then would create a comprehensive paving plan.
He also highlighted ways to improve public safety in the city, such as expanding mutual aid and establishing “community policing,” where officers walk the streets and interact with residents. He also suggested better pay for police and more manpower toward code enforcement.
