Politics & Government

Meet the Cranberry Supervisor Candidates: Bruce Hezlep

The president of Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, Hezlep is seeking the Republican nomination in the May 21 primary election.

The spring primary is May 21. Do you know who you’re voting for?

In an effort to help readers get to know those running for Cranberry Township’s Board of Supervisors, Patch is running a series of candidate profiles.

Up first is for the seat being vacated by Supervisor Dave Root.

Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The other Republican candidate is Seneca Valley School Board Member Eric Gordon. The winner of the May primary will face the Democratic contender in the fall general election.

Name: Bruce Hezlep

Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Position Sought: Cranberry Township Supervisor
  • Candidate Website: www.electbrucehezlep.com
  • Family: Wife, Karen; two children Nathan (12) and Anna (10)
  • Education: Bachelor of Arts Business Administration/Financial Planning Grove City College
  • Occupation: Information Technology Manager – L. B. Foster

Related Experience:

I have twenty four years of business experience, including 10 years of hands-on accounting experience, with two years as a controller for a publicly held company, six years of information technology consulting with global enterprise software companies, including J.D. Edwards, PeopleSoft and Oracle, and the last eight years in the information technology department of L. B. Foster.

I have also been President of the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company since 2009, having been a volunteer firefighter since 2002. I have developed, delivered, and been held accountable for balanced budgets every year as President.

What is the primary reason you are running for office?

I am sincere when I say that I want to continue to serve the residents of Cranberry Township to make our community an attractive and safe place to live for our residents.

My wife and I chose to move to Cranberry Township 20 years ago because we believed that the Township was headed in the right direction then, and I believe we are on the right path now.

Since we moved to the Township, our community has been fortunate to have strong leadership and good planning.

I want to make sure that Cranberry Township continues on the right path as outlined in the Cranberry Plan.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

To help manage economic growth with a focus on traffic issues.

Traffic is the most common topic of discussion when I speak with our residents. As a first responder in the community, I frequently see the results of traffic issues.

While many of the issues are the result of speeding, driving while impaired, ignoring traffic laws, and distracted driving, as a public safety official I have worked with Township officials to continuously make our community safer.

Route 19, 228, Freedom, Rochester, Franklin and Rowan Roads are all state roads. Even so, Cranberry Township has made most of the improvements to these roads over the past two decades.

In 1989, Cranberry Township was the innovator in implementing traffic impact fees on developers. The expansion of Route 228 is a perfect example of public-private partnerships yielding results while using NO TAXPAYER money.

If elected, I will continue to work on building public-private partnerships to alleviate the tax burden on taxpayers for road expansion.

I further promise to lobby our elected officials in Harrisburg to take better care of our roads in Cranberry Township.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

My 24 years of business experience in the private sector managing budgets and projects, combined with my track record of serving the community as a volunteer and leader uniquely qualify me as a candidate.

I had the opportunity to become the Controller of a local manufacturer at a young age, and I was responsible for managing all financial and administrative aspects of the company.

I then continued my career in software consulting where I advised large multinational corporations on best practices from a financial and software application standpoint.

I’m a fiscal conservative. I wanted to do something to serve our residents while at the same time limiting the size of government.

So in 2002, in addition to my full time job, I joined the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company.

Since joining the Fire Company I have responded to over 1,500 emergency calls from my fellow residents and volunteered over 7,000 hours of service to the community, saving the taxpayers thousands of dollars.

I am now a State Fire Academy Local Level instructor helping to educate the next generation of firefighters.

In addition to being a firefighter I am an Assistant Boy Scout Leader and an active member of the Cranberry Township Sunrise Rotary Club.

I have a level-headed, common sense, and dedicated approach to leadership that I have cultivated throughout both my professional and volunteer careers.

If elected, I promise to face important decisions for what is in the best interest of all of our residents, not an individual or small group with special interests.

What is your favorite thing about the community?

First, as the father of two young children, I am extremely happy to be raising my children in a community that was most recently recognized as the best place to raise children in Pennsylvania, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

This honor was the result of the strong leadership and emphasis on long range planning that we have enjoyed in Cranberry Township.

Secondly, I would have to say that the volunteerism in the community and the fact that people are always stepping up to make our community a better place is something I am very proud of.

The main reason we have experienced growth in the ranks of the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, while membership state-wide is declining, is directly attributable to the Township’s support of our volunteers.

I see this support from the Township in all facets of volunteerism in the community,

from the Cranberry CUP, to the Miracle League Field, and the Cranberry Township Community Chest Community Days.

What is the biggest problem facing the community?

The fact that the state is continually looking to “kick the can” down to our local government in the form of unfunded mandates is the biggest problem I see facing our community.

In 2010, Pennsylvania State Sen. John Eichelberger as chairman of Senate Resolution 393 Task Force investigated 6,240 mandates that hinder local government. 6,240!

For example, the state wanted Cranberry Township to take over ownership of Plains Church Road while at the same time reducing the liquid fuels tax we use to fix our roads.

Another example is the mandate that forces municipalities to pay for and operate traffic signals while requiring these traffic signals to conform to specifications which far outweigh the national standard.

Cranberry Township is an example of sound financial management as evidenced by the Aa2 financial rating from Moody’s. There are 2,526 municipalities in Pennsylvania, and only 15 have a better bond rating than Cranberry Township.

However, all of them have higher tax rates from their business and/or their residents than Cranberry Township.

We need to be diligent in working with state officials to ensure that we are not burdened with services we are already paying state taxes for. This will allow us to maintain our strong financial rating by Moody’s and other independent agencies.


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