2 candidates vie for single seat in Jefferson
Candidates in the southeastern sector of the county said they want to serve their communities and taxpayers.
With the May 18 primary election coming up, those running in the contested races for Jefferson Township supervisor shared their intentions should they win.
Two candidates are running for one supervisor seat in Jefferson.
Incumbent Lois Rankin has served as a Jefferson supervisor for about 12 years, as she is in the final year of her second six-year term.“I will always give back to the community,” Rankin said. “I just want to see this township continue good and well.”Accomplishments of the board of supervisors during her tenure include a $2 million grant for the Bonniebrook Road project, a grant to install a walking trail and upgrade other facilities at SEBCO Park, and a superior road crew using top-notch equipment.She said the road department has increased its capabilities through significant contributions by shale gas developers who have placed wells in the township.Rankin is proud that taxes have not risen above one mill in Jefferson Township, and it is her goal to keep that status going.“I have no desire to raise taxes,” she said.She does not favor a zoning plan for Jefferson Township, although she was told a rumor exists that she does.“I'm not for zoning and I never have been,” Rankin said.She is also a proponent of the county's Agricultural Security Zone program, which protects farmland activities in rural municipalities, including Jefferson Township.Rankin is the president of the Butler County Association of Township Supervisors and one of 20 county residents chosen to sit on the XTO Community Advisory Panel for shale gas development.She also serves as a volunteer for many other organizations as well as her church.Basis of ethics
Her opponent, Lloyd Brewer, said he is running for supervisor on the basis of ethics, as he has not approved of certain actions taken by the board of supervisors.Brewer, who has lived in the township for 58 years, said the township must be run like a big business by following the many rules laid out for township supervisors.“You can't run it like a ma-and-pa shop,” he said.Brewer said he handles $1 billion per day in his position in the shale gas industry, so he is accustomed to dealing with funding, budgets, scheduling and any other facets of operating a township.Brewer said he has worked with the developers who have approached the township as well as the road crew, which he wants to keep going.“I think I'd be a good fit,” he said.Brewer is married with two grown children. He is retired from the U.S. Army.
