| Hempfield Township |
| TAX COLLECTOR Republicans Democrats |
Incumbent tax collector Susan Creighton is being challenged by Jim Regola, Charles T. Short, Chris Simon and Rosemary Spangler.
The candidate who wins the Democratic nod will face off against Republican Thomas L. Daughenbaugh, who is unopposed on the GOP ticket. The winner of the November general election will serve a four-year term.
County detectives charged Creighton with misappropriating $21,989 in tax money, alleging she diverted the funds to a private account. She paid the money back and was admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, or ARD.
Pointing out that the money 'is still sitting there,' Creighton denied any wrongdoing. She said political foes orchestrated the scandal to unseat her.
She said reaction of others has been positive.
'I've had some wonderful, wonderful responses from people who read between the lines,' Creighton said. 'If you know me, you know it's not true.'
Creighton, of 911 Beacon Valley Road, said she is seeking a fifth term because she enjoys her job and wants to continue serving taxpayers. Most of her opponents have said they will expand office hours, but Creighton said she always has been willing to accommodate taxpayers' schedules.
Those accommodations include staying open until 6 p.m. one night a week and visiting taxpayers in their homes or at her own house after normal business hours.
Creighton is a graduate of Hempfield Area High School. Before taking office 16 years ago, she worked for nine years in the tax office run by her father, a former tax collector.
Creighton's challengers say they want to expand office hours and computerize the tax office.
Jim Regola, 46, of 507 Point Drive wants to hold evening hours and open the office six days a week. He also wants to use his expertise as an accountant.
'My experience, coupled with my accounting background, qualifies me to handle the $34 million collected by the tax office in a proficient and efficient manner,' he said.
Regola, an office manager and in-house accountant at Victor P. Regola Associates in Youngwood, served for 11 years on the Hempfield Township Planning Commission.
He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from West Liberty State College in West Virginia.
He and his wife, Candy, have two children.
Short, 41, of Greensburg RD9 is the inspector of elections for Alwine No. 2 District. He is making a second run for the tax office after an unsuccessful bid four years ago.
Short said he sees a need for greater accessibility to the office, saying it should be open six days a week.
'It's time for some changes,' he said. 'As a taxpayer, I can never get into that office to pay taxes because of her hours.'
Short said he wants to take a mobile tax office into the township's various neighborhoods. He envisions spending time in each community to accommodate those who want to pay in person but have no means of getting to the office.
'A lot of these elderly people can't make it in, so you have to go to them,' he said.
Short also pledged to move the office to a central location in the township.
A graduate of Hempfield Area High School, he is taking courses in general studies at Westmoreland County Community College. He is a pet stylist at PetSmart in Hempfield Township.
Simon, 39, of 35 Windihill Drive wants to computerize the office and run it like a business. He said his more than 20 years' experience in business and management will help in achieving those objectives.
He also wants to bring greater accountability to the office and explore the possibility of moving it into the township building on Woodward Drive.
'The office is independent of the county and township, paying its own employees and rent,' Simon said. 'But it's part of the township, and since all of the other township offices are out there, it should be, too.'
Simon holds associate degrees in architecture from Triangle Institute of Technology and business management from Thomas Nelson Community College and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Christopher Newport University in Virginia.
He is vice president of marketing for Mobile Concepts by Scotty.
He and his wife, Lori, have one child.
Spangler, 37, of 23 Tami Drive is making her first run at public office. She said she wants to 'bring a fresh name and fresh face' to the tax office.
She also wants to computerize the office and extend its hours.
Spangler said she is familiar with the workings of a tax office because her father, Anthony Garofola, was a tax collector in Salem Township.
She is pursuing a degree in accounting from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. A homemaker, she previously worked as a teller and loan officer at Southwest Bank.
Spangler and her husband, Richard, have two children.
Daughenbaugh, 40, of 620 Buckingham Drive is running unopposed for the Republican nomination. An industrial accountant, he said he wants to bring integrity to the tax office.
'That has to be the key, given some of the things that happened to the incumbent,' Daughenbaugh said. 'People want someone in there who has the integrity to do the best job possible and ability to be accountable if anything doesn't go right.'
He said customer service is another concern, and cited the need for evening and Saturday hours, especially around the time taxes are due.
Daughenbaugh said his accounting experience will prove beneficial in ensuring checks and balances are in place to avoid mistakes or misappropriations. He has a bachelor's in accounting from St. Vincent College and a master's in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
Daughenbaugh and his wife, Amy, have eight children.
