Cranberry 'Meets the Candidates' for Butler County Commission at Chamber-Sponsored Forum

Area residents got a chance to know a bit better on Tuesday with a Meet the Candidates night at the

About 20 people, including Cranberry supervisors Dick Hadley and John Skorupan and township Manager Jerry Andree, showed up for the forum sponsored by The Chamber of Commerce Inc. to listen as Dale Pinkerton, Bill McCarrier, Jerry Johnston and Jim Eckstein spoke on issues facing Butler County.

The Chamber, which serves North Pittsburgh, Northern Allegheny and the Cranberry area, sponsored a similar forum in October for Allegheny County Executive candidates D. Raja and Rich Fitzgerald in Wexford.

Incumbent board Chairman Pinkerton and McCarrier, a former Butler County commissioner and founder of Interstate Pipe & Supply Co., are running a joint campaign on the Republican ticket. Johnston, a youth care worker at Adelphoi Village, and Eckstein, a self-employed contractor and frequent speaker at Butler commission meetings, are Democrats.

The top three vote-getters Nov. 8 will win commission seats.

The candidates spent more than an hour Tuesday answering a series of prescreened questions before taking inquiries from the audience.

Eckstein, who has attended more than 90 Butler commission meetings since his unsuccessful run for the board four years ago, said his blue-collar background makes him relatable. Calling himself fiscally conservative, Eckstein said one of the main planks in his platform is controlling county debt.

Johnston, a retired advertising and public affairs manager for the former North Pittsburgh Telephone Co., said his priority is to bring jobs and economic growth to Butler County. McCarrier also drew on his background as a business owner to stress the importance of job creation in Butler County.

Pinkerton, who is seeking his second term, touted his record as commissioner. The county has gone from being in the red in recent years to having a $3.2 million fund balance, he said. He also noted Butler County’s rank as the in a 2011 federal study as proof the county is moving in the right direction.

“We’ve grown by 10,00 people in the last 10 years,” he said.

The candidates also addressed the perception of a separation between Cranberry Township and the rest of Butler County. Johnston called the theory more a myth than a reality and said frequent communication between Cranberry officials and Butler County executives is key to the success of the county.

“We need to work in concert, and we all need to work toward the same goal,” he said.

McCarrier noted geography naturally divides Cranberry from the rest of the county. Because of its location in the southwest quadrant of Butler County and on the border of Allegheny County, many Cranberry residents work in Pittsburgh, he said. When they shop, they often go to the Ross Park Mall in Ross Township, which is closer than the Clearview Mall in Butler.

He said he sees the separation lessening, however, particularly with the appointment of Cranberry residents to the Community Development Corporation of Butler County. Both McCarrier and Pinkerton are on the CDC’s board of directors.

“We’ve done a lot to bridge that gap between the two areas,” McCarrier said.

A 1974 graduate of l, Eckstein, who resides in Butler Township, said he has witnessed explosive growth in the Cranberry area. If elected, he said he would attend council meetings in communities that, like Cranberry, are located around the perimeter of the Butler County.

While he doesn’t see a separation, he added, “I don't think they’ve been getting as much attention.”

Pinkerton also said he doesn’t believe there is a big divide between Cranberry and the rest of the county. He said he spends a few days of every week in Cranberry and regularly communicates with township supervisors and staff.

The candidates also shared their views on drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Butler County as well as the commission’s role in promoting education in Butler schools to Gov. Tom Corbett.

Pinkerton, McCarrier and Johnston also emphasized the importance of cracking down on drug use, particularly with the county’s youth. With his job as at Adelphoi Village, Johnston said he has witnessed firsthand the impact of drug use among Butler County teens.

“Believe me, we have it in every school in Butler County, he said.

If re-elected, Pinkerton said his top three goals would be to focus on the economy, improve the area’s infrastructure and address the county’s drug problems. McCarrier also stated his desire to curb the county’s drug issues while bringing jobs to the area.

Johnston listed growing both the economy and the role of health and human services as priorities. He also noted his intention to promote Butler County.

“We need to tell our story, and we need to tell it everywhere,” he said.

Besides keeping taxes and the debt low, Eckstein said he aims for a transparent government. He said there is “aloofness” with the current commission that he would do away with. 

“The constituents boss me,” he said.