Crowded field chases four seats on Farrell Council

May 8—FARRELL — Eight candidates are seeking four Democratic nominations for Farrell City Council.

With no Republican candidates on the May 18 primary ballot, the nominees are virtually assured of election to council.

Gregory

Running for a second term on city council is Cliff Gregory, a 1999 graduate of Farrell Area High School and studied psychology at Youngstown State University. He works as founder and CEO of Raw Boxing Fitness and Community Center in Farrell.

At the center, Gregory offers personal training and aerobic classes for adults, and an afterschool program, boxing lessons, exercises, movie nights and activity nights for kids. He also holds family food distributions to help serve people and connect with people's concerns in the community.

This desire to help people in the community is the reason Gregory said he is seeking reelection, as serving on city council can allow him to help people at a broad level.

Gregory said the most important issue in this election would be helping Farrell recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic and the strike at NLMK, which was settled earlier this year.

Gregory would also work to help bring people in the city together and attract new businesses to Farrell, who could benefit from the land available and the number of residents willing to work in those businesses.

Harkulich

Candidate Andrew Harkulich is a lifelong Farrell resident and a 1985 graduate of Kennedy Catholic. As a former president of United Steelworkers Local 1660, he took leadership courses through the union.

Harkulich also served as president of the Mercer County Central Labor Council, as a board member of the United Way of Mercer County, and on the Northwest Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation, which represented about 53,000 union members of various professions.

Harkulich said he helped negotiate "a ton" of contracts during his time as a union officer, an experience which he said would prove useful on Farrell Council, where the various members must work together even while having different ideas.

If elected, Harkulich said the most important issue would be to to help draw more businesses to Farrell, including ancillary businesses connected to the cracker plant in Beaver County. He also plans to seek grant opportunities to help young Farrell residents create startup businesses instead of leaving the area.

Morrison

Annette Hulley Morrison, a lifelong Farrell resident, previously served on city council but opted not to run for reelection a in 2019 due to health concerns. Morrison said she now feels prepared to return and would give "150 percent" if reelected.

A graduate of Farrell Area High School, Morrison earned a bachelor's degree in human development from Penn State Shenango and worked at the Prince of Peace Center as director of operations for 28 years.

At Prince of Peace, Morrison's duties included overseeing the center's food program, which has about 700 clients; a program where food is delivered to senior citizens; and the Pennsylvania Work Wear program.

Morrison also served as vice president on the Shenango Valley Animal Shelter board of directors; the Farrell Stey-Nevant Public Library board, where she helped create the Children In Action program; treasurer on the city's recreation committee; the city's transportation committee; and represented Farrell on the Pennsylvania League of Cities.

She is running for council out of a desire to help those in the community, whether it be gathering information or helping residents solve issues.

Morrison said she hopes to educate officials and residents on the city's charter and help inform members of the community on is permitted under the document. She expressed the hope of creating a junior council, where Farrell students could learn from and interact with city council members.

Morrison said she would also like to pursue more family-oriented programs, such as establishing a park, or a Light Up Night event during the holidays, and focusing on revitalizing the city with efforts such as newer housing.

Moss-McDougall

Candidate Lynda Moss-McDougall is a 1975 graduate of Sharon High School who received a bachelor's degree in administration of justice and an associate's degree in health and human development, both from Penn State University.

She is founder of the Sankofa House for Women, Inc., and has worked with the Mercer County Housing Authority and Penn State Co-op Extension. She is a member of New and Living Way Church.

A resident of Farrell for five years, Moss-McDougall said she is running for city Council because she wants to be able to make a difference by working to help solve Farrell's blight issue and develop green space.

She said her experience serving with community organizations is valuable experience in terms of serving the community from city council.

This could include using green space for affordable and safe residential housing, and attracting businesses — such as a grocery store or new financial institution to replace First National Bank, which recently closed its Farrell office.

If elected, Moss-McDougall said she would pursue ways to help the city's youth, such as providing assistance to children who need help with remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have parents who work during the day. She also hopes to help develop a reliable source of funding for the Stey-Nevant Public Library to help maintain its programs.

Wright

Candidate Michael Wright is a 1971 graduate of Farrell Area School District and received his bachelors of science degree from Point Park University and his masters of business administration from Geneva College.

Wright served for 22 years at the Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County as its first executive director, 10 years as CEO of the Shenango Valley Urban League, and nine years on the Farrell Area School Board, serving the last three as president. He also served on the Farrell Planning Commission.

At the Community Food Warehouse during the 1980s, when many of the area's steel mills closed, much of Wright's work involved helping local agencies feed families. During his time at the Urban League he often helped residents find housing or deal with related issues.

Being able to interact with and help those in the community is why Wright is running for a seat on city council, where he hopes to bring a new vision to the city while working together with the other city council members.

Wright said his experience dealing with different local agencies, and the state and federal governments for grant opportunities while with at the Community Food Warehouse and the Urban League could be beneficial on city council.

Wright said it would be important to attract businesses to Farrell and increase the city's tax base while relieving the pressure on senior citizen residents. Wright described Farrell as perfect for small businesses, both in terms of land availability and "friendly" residents.

Wright is running as Democrat.

Candidates Robert Burich, Carminal Craig and Patrice Lee did not respond to interview requests prior to publication.