Stanley Buggey

For Stanley Buggey, the race for the state’s 41st Senate District is about bringing people together.

Buggey is running as a member of the USA Minutemen party, named after the namesake American Revolution-era colonial militia.

“I always had the feeling that name meant they would come to each other’s aid at a moment’s notice,” he said. “And that’s what we need to do today in this state to bring it back together.”

He previously served as borough manager for Homer City in Indiana County from 1997 to 2005.

He said what compelled him to run for office this year was his ideas on creating new jobs in the area and property taxes.

“The biggest impedance for new jobs in my view is government,” Buggey said.

Buggey also said a tax reassessment done in Indiana County influenced him to run for office.

“I feel the property tax is the most unfair tax that was ever implemented, especially since it is being used to fund school district pension plans that were mandated by the state,” he states on his campaign website.

Buggey said one way of helping with new job creation and reduce carbon emissions is his idea of geothermal heating units to extract energy from underground for heating and cooling systems.

Before retiring, he worked for EDGE Consulting & Surveying, G-Force Engineering Services and Gator Coal Company among other companies.

Buggey said the system uses water with ethanol that increases the mixture’s conductive properties to assist in transferring the Earth’s heat in winter or coolness in summer, with the energy provided by the sun.

People who benefit from the system would pay for services instead of using general fund money from taxes.

Buggey said the amount of money that the system would save each month for heating and air conditioning is about $150. The system would cost around $25,000 to $30,000 for the average home.

The plan is for the government to provide loans to install the geothermal or solar panel systems in existing homes, but with an emphasis on new home construction.

Automotive factories would be used to assemble these systems and secondary support jobs would be created as a result, Buggey said.

Buggey said he believes the war on drugs has not been successful and that if the government focused on job creation in problem areas, people would be less inclined to use drugs.

“Part of that problem goes back to taking people’s hopes and dreams,” he said. “It (job creation) would also probably help with our import and export problems.”

He also supports pension reform for the state, saying he would work to plan for the long term in making it affordable for workers.

“I would have a 20-year plan to develop it,” Buggey said. “The problem with government is that they do a one-year plan.”

He is also against property taxes being used to fund school districts.

“What happens is when there is a downturn in the economy, the jobs go,” Buggey said. “The earned income goes down. That’s another major source for funding schools. The ability to pay the property tax goes down and then they’re in danger of losing their house if they don’t pay.”