Category: News || By Submitted Report

State Sen. Jim Brewster has been reappointed chairman of the board of the McKeesport Housing Authority.

The announcement was made this week by Brewster's office.

"There are so many issues to address and so much work yet to do," Brewster said. "We have had great success in developing new initiatives and formulating solutions because the board works together to solve problems. That is a credit to the dedication of the board members and those who are served by the programs offered by the authority."

In addition to operating the Harrison Village and Crawford Village housing complexes, the authority also provides apartments for the elderly and oversees the federal Section 8 program within McKeesport.

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Brewster was elected to council in McKeesport in 1995 and served as its president before becoming mayor in 2004. He has served on the housing authority board for 22 years, including 20 years as its chairman.

"As a former mayor and councilman who has been intensely involved in addressing issues impacting economically hard-hit communities, I know that we have plenty of work to do in the Senate to make progress," Brewster said. "Senate Democrats recently unveiled a multi-faceted and comprehensive plan to tackle problems that plague smaller cities."

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Earlier this year, Brewster was re-appointed Democratic chairman of the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, and named to the state Senate's committees on transportation, banking and insurance, community economic and recreational Development, and game and fisheries.

Brewster and Senate Democrats last month announced a plan called "Growth, Progress & Sustainability" that is intended to focus legislative attention on improving the fiscal climate for local governments.

Proponents say the plan will be designed to reform the state's program for financially distressed communities --- known as Act 47 --- and step up tax reform efforts. The plan also will develop an investment strategy for addressing economic development, public safety and infrastructure needs of local government.

Senate Democrats may face an uphill battle; Republicans control both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as well as the governor's office.

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Brewster took office in 2010 to fill the remaining two years on the term of former state Sen. Sean Logan of Monroeville. He survived an attempt to eliminate his Mon Valley senate district and was re-elected to a four-year term in 2012.

The senator has been critical of Gov. Tom Corbett's administration, particularly in its cuts to local school districts.

"This administration took a pledge not to raise taxes, and many Pennsylvanians are paying more in local school taxes as a direct result of a poorly designed education reform program," Brewster said. "The goal of having choice of schools is available today and certainly can be made more available, and I am committed to making sure that there's a level playing field as it relates to standardized testing, teacher evaluation, certification, and funding, to name a few."

"My goal in the next 18 months is to focus on transportation and education issues," he said. "These are expensive budget items that require listening to the will of the people. For example, once a transportation strategy and legislation is approved, who will prioritize the projects to ensure that all Pennsylvanians will benefit without political influence?"

A graduate of McKeesport Area High School and California University of Pennsylvania, Brewster is married to the former Linda Leah and has three children and six grandchildren. Before his political career, he was an executive at the former Mellon Bank for 27 years.

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(Editor's Note: Written from press releases provided by the office of Senator Jim Brewster)