Staying fiscally responsible, improving technology and keeping Whitehall as a great place to live are three of the main issues concerning candidates vying for Whitehall council seats during the Nov. 3 election.

Eight candidates are vying for four open seats on Whitehall Council.

Three incumbents -- Linda Book, Kathy DePuy and Glenn Nagy -- will square off against five newcomers -- Maryanne Linkes, Chris A. Mooney, Steve Polome, Michael J. Romano and Bill Veith -- for the four seats.

Book, 53, a Republican, is seeking her third term on Whitehall council. And it's a position that she said she truly enjoys.

"I believe that I have helped the borough residents with my programs, such as the Pennsylvania Best Practices award-winning LEARN bus, initiated my first month on council in 2002," Book said.

The LEARN bus provides transportation for children and their parents who live in Prospect Park to go to and from the borough library for programs.

Book, an Army veteran, also established the borough's Memorial Day Ceremony in 2004, and she hopes another term on council will allow her to continue to develop new ideas to help the borough.

A Point Park University graduate, with a degree in journalism and communications, Book volunteers as a Girl Scout leader, a veteran member of the American Legion Post in Pleasant Hills, a board member for the Friends of Whitehall Public Library and a tutor for the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council.

If re-elected, Book will focus on maintaining a fiscally responsible budget, focusing on public safety, sewer infrastructures and roads.

She also will continue to seek grant money for the fire company, library and borough parks.

"In this recession, it is more important than ever to secure the monies available to boroughs and to act quickly and efficiently to secure them," Book said.

Book also would continue "to work hard to garner the proper attention that should be afforded to Whitehall Borough in response to its request when inquiring of our county and state authorities."

Kathy DePuy

DePuy, 68, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to do her part to "keep Whitehall as an outstanding community."

The retired teacher, who has a bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a master's in education from the University of Pittsburgh, said one of the main issues in the borough is to find ways to continue providing residents with outstanding public safety and road maintenance.

"I want to keep them the same. I think we're doing a good job," she said.

DePuy, the second vice president for the Allegheny County Borough's Association and director for Municipal Risk Management, also wants to ensure that borough officials continue to look at regional cooperation, such as shared garbage contracts.

"That's what's new, that's what's coming," she said. "I want to make sure we're looking at everything."

Another focus for DePuy will be to continue to keep the lines of communication open between council members.

"I think we have pretty good communication," she said.

DePuy, a board member with the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, also would like officials to remain fiscally responsible to borough residents.

"If we're careful with where we're spending (money), then we don't have problems in the future," she said.

The 46-year resident said borough officials should begin to look into making advances in technology, such as having paperless meetings.

One change DePuy would like to see in the borough is having more residents attend borough council meetings.

"It would be nice if more people were interested," she said. "Let them question us and see what we're doing."

Maryanne Linkes

Linkes, 53, a Republican, would like to give something back to the community by serving on council.

The St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin CCD and RCIA teacher volunteers her time as a lawyer to do pro bono work for nonprofit organizations and is a board member for People Concerned for the Unborn Child.

The corporate lawyer wants to help keep Whitehall council strong, because she believes the basis for all government starts in the communities.

"I've come to realize that we can only have a strong state and a strong federal government if we make our municipalities strong," Linkes said.

If elected, the 15-year Whitehall resident, who is an adjunct professor at Community College of Allegheny County, has several ideas she would like to see implemented.

Linkes is a 1982 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She also has a bachelor's degree from Pitt.

One of her goals it to review programs in the borough to ensure that they are being run efficiently.

She also would like to have a special program for teens and adults, where a group meets once a month to find out what new ideas they would like to see implemented in the borough.

Linkes also would like to implement a program to get community members more involved in public safety. She envisions neighbors meeting at the municipal building or neighborhood homes to discuss safety concerns.

While Linkes said she is happy with her community, she would like its officials to always be open to new ideas.

Chris A. Mooney

Mooney, 51, a Republican, hopes to use his knowledge of borough issues to serve the community.

"I've been to virtually every council meeting for the last decade," he said. "I know as much about what's going on in the community as anybody else does."

A quality insurance coordinator for AAA, Mooney said the biggest issues facing the borough are increasing costs in paving and road salt, unfunded federal mandates for sewer upgrades and getting adjusted to new technology.

A committee member for the Friends of Whitehall Public Library and Diamond Outreach, Mooney would like to see better promotion of the borough and its residents.

"Over the years, the people of this borough have won so many awards," he said. "And the awards get put in the closet. We don't do a good job, either as a governmental agency or as residents of a community of trying to promote this community and what a nice, quiet place it is."

Borough officials need to promote the borough, through their Web site, and show the small gems that the community has to offer, Mooney said.

If elected, Mooney said, he would like to coordinate different committees to begin working together, like the Diamond Outreach organization, which encompasses borough council and recreation board and the library friends and board of trustees.

Mooney also would like to see council re-evaluate the millage rate and "see if there's a way to try and drop the millage a little bit," even if it's just a quarter of a mill, he said.

Glenn Nagy

Nagy, 54, a Democrat, has served on Whitehall council since 1996.

"I am most proud of council's ability to continue to provide excellent services to our residents at a fair and reasonable tax rate," he said, noting the borough is debt free.

A 1973 Baldwin High School alumnus, Nagy has a bachelor's degree from Washington & Jefferson College and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

He serves as the council-appointed delegate to Economic Development South and alternate to South Hills Council of Governments.

If elected for another term, the self-employed insurance adjuster will focus on providing residents with "the services and amenities that our residents have come to expect" in a fiscally sound manner.

The 50-year Whitehall resident also would like to work see borough officials continue to work to attract new residents to move into the borough.

As many borough employees are set to retire within the next few years, Nagy said he is dedicated to ensure a smooth transition between employees.

With less funding coming from the state and federal level, borough officials also will be faced with the challenge in the next few years of maintaining services while keeping taxes low.

Nagy said he also would like borough officials to continue looking into adding curbside leaf collection.

While Nagy said he believes most Whitehall residents are happy with the borough and the services that it provides, he would like to encourage residents to attend borough council meetings to discuss any issues they might have with borough officials.

Steve Polome

Polome, 43, a Democrat, hopes to use his background and experience to help make decisions.

"I've been around the borough for a long time," he said. "I know the issues and what is happening in the borough."

A regular attendee of borough council meetings, Polome has served on the borough's planning commission for 12 years, and is the vice chairman.

He hopes to use this experience as a benefit on council.

"I understand what we need to do as a borough to make sure that we stay within the law, but also encourage development," he said.

Polome, who has a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, would like to see borough officials maintain a low tax rate while "providing quality services."

He also would like to ensure that borough officials are cost effective when making updates to the sanitary sewer system.

As a technology manager at BNY Mellon, Polome would like to see borough officials make upgrades in technology, including the borough Web site.

"I'd like to make it more useful and a better place to go," he said. "There's a more interactive place we can get to."

As changes occur in the world, Polome said he wants to ensure that the borough follows suite.

"I'm perfectly happy with the leadership that we've had, but the world changes," he said. "I just want to make sure that the borough keeps pace with all of the new challenges."

Michael J. Romano

Romano, 68, a Democrat, hopes to use his experience in management to help Whitehall Borough maintain services and keep facilities updated and taxes low.

The focus of the retired director of pharmacy services at UPMC Montefiore and UPMC Presbyterian will be to keep Whitehall on its current path.

"The way they have managed the borough is with an eye to the future," Romano said of the borough's current leadership.

Romano, who has his bachelor's degree from Duquesne University, is a member of the state board of pharmacy and a past president of the Pennsylvania Society of Hospital Pharmacists and a member of Duquesne University's Pharmacy Alumni Association.

A 28-year resident, Romano, president of the Whitehall Public Library's board of trustees for the last two years and a member for four, said borough officials have done a good job maintaining borough facilities and parks and have been "very generous" to the library.

"Our library reflects what this borough is all about," he said of the library that was recently recognized as one of the top 25 libraries in the state by Hennen's American Public Library Ratings.

If elected, Romano hopes to work with his colleagues as a group to accomplish great things.

"I don't think me, as an individual, can accomplish things," Romano said. "I think we as a council can accomplish things."

He also would take advice from borough residents on what they would like to see implemented in the borough.

"There's always room for improvement, so I think we need to look and find what they are," he said.

Bill Veith

Veith, 61, a Republican, is a retired Baldwin High School teacher and athletic coordinator, who served six years in the Marine Corps. reserves.

He is running for council in hopes of giving back to the borough that he has living in for the last 20 years.

"I've got a lot of community pride," Veith said.

Veith, who has a master's in education from Duquesne University and a bachelor's in secondary education from Slippery Rock University, now works part time in sales for Tri Star Investors, a Whitehall-based company.

He is a member of St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Parish. Before retiring in 2005 from the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, he served on the drug and alcohol and budget advisory committees and was active in contract negotiations.

The former treasurer of the Baldwin Federation of Teachers said some of the most important issues facing the borough today are sewage system mandates from the federal government, increasing costs with road maintenance and continuing keeping the open lines of communication between council members.

If elected, Veith said, his goal would be to run the borough as if it were his own home.

"I'd definitely try to make the most common sense decisions and represent the taxpayers," he said.

Veith said he always has tried to solve the problems around him, and plans to take that attitude to council.

"Every problem has a solution," he said. "I would concentrate on the solution rather than the problem."