Category: Announcements || By Submitted Reports

Two candidates are seeking the office of mayor of McKeesport in Tuesday's election: Michael Cherepko, the Democratic candidate, and Raymond Malinchak, an independent. (For instructions on entering a write-in candidate on the iVotronic voting machine, click here.)

Candidates were limited to 400 words. No candidates are running on the Republican ticket, according to the Allegheny County Elections Division.

All candidates for local offices were invited publicly to submit their platforms for publication at Tube City Almanac. No school board or council candidates responded to the invitation.

. . .

MICHAEL CHEREPKO

My name is Michael Cherepko, and I would be honored to be your next mayor.

I was born and raised in McKeesport and am now raising my own family in Fawcett Plan. My wife, Nicole, and I have two children: Jake, 2, and Madeline, 4.

I have been a teacher at Cornell Intermediate School in the city's Seventh Ward for 12 years. I have served on council for eight years and am currently serving as council president. I want to be your mayor because I want my children and grandchildren to be proud to call McKeesport their home, just as I have been.

I have a comprehensive plan to provide new opportunities to give our youth a constructive outlet for their energy. I will call for a new spirit of volunteerism to provide the guidance that many of our youth lack in their lives. I will combine these efforts with a complete overhaul of our Property Maintenance Code and our enforcement efforts in this regard.

I will ensure the safety of our city by maintaining first-class police and fire departments. This, in conjunction with the continued demolition of blighted structures, will make our city a place to be proud of once again and enable us to recruit the new residents and businesses we need to expand our tax base.

I will also formulate a comprehensive marketing strategy to attract new businesses and residents. I will organize and meet with city business owners to ensure that we are fostering the best environment possible and enlist their help in recruiting new businesses.

Former Mayor James Brewster and I partnered over the last eight years to guide McKeesport through some of the hardest financial times the city has ever faced, without a single tax increase.

Many of my current opponents have stated they will follow the recommendations set forth in the Delta Report. While we have already implemented most of their suggestions, I can assure you I will not be raising taxes immediately as the report suggests. Tax increases raise little revenue and hit our senior citizens on fixed incomes the hardest.

No --- we will continue to think outside the box and work hard to find other solutions to our city's financial woes. We have made progress, but the job is not finished. I look forward to building a better McKeesport and know that together, we can overcome any challenge!

. . .

RAYMOND MALINCHAK

I am honored and privileged to announce my candidacy for the Mayor of the City of McKeesport. My goal is to become your mayor and to work with our community to restore pride, development, and integrity to our City. Together the citizens, council, and mayor can make McKeesport a safer community to pursue employment opportunities and economic prosperity.

If elected mayor, I will work for the citizens of McKeesport to improve fiscal stability, public safety, municipal services, code enforcement, and impartial employment opportunities. With the completion of the sale of a City owned waste water collection system to MACM, the City received about $24 million in CASH. All City jobs are now secure and a balanced budget is assured. Part of this surplus will be used to pay off long term debt.

I will forego the $80,325 authorized mayor's salary which I believe is ridiculously excessive. I will be a full time mayor and not double dip and only answer to the citizens. The City charter does not prohibit the mayor from working another full time position. I will not accept the use of any City owned vehicle.

I have served the citizens for eight years as City Controller and have always placed the citizen's interest and my personal integrity first. I served on the MASD school board, McKeesport Industrial Development Authority, and the Hearing and Zoning Board.

Professionally, I am a registered consulting engineer in the nuclear and power engineering industry. I earned a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1967 from the University of Pittsburgh and later completed a program in Financial Planning and Investments. Throughout my engineering career I managed many large projects in the U. S. and Eastern Europe. I served my country in the U.S. Army for two years in the Signal Corps as a cryptographic technician.

I believe my performance as Controller demonstrates that I am committed to honest, scandal free, and transparent government. I will always confront questionable incidents that occur in our City. For example, the uncollected $8 million delinquent taxes, prohibited political activities by employees, the disrespect by the well-connected of the business privilege tax, earned income tax, and registration of businesses are all unacceptable. Numerous non-traceable cash transactions, lease rent payment fairness, and delinquent lease rent payments must be addressed.

I demonstrated my commitment to honesty by confronting a questionable trash issue by personally funding a $5,750 investigation. The results of this trash investigation and several other troublesome incidents will be forwarded to law enforcement agencies for their consideration. (Editor's note: Candidates were limited to 400 words. A portion of this announcement was truncated.)

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