KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES
Potter County Commissioner candidates answer our questions about the economy

CATHY BOWERS

Potter County voters will cast ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 6, to fill three seats on the Board of Commissioners.

Two of the incumbents, Ken Wingo and John Torok, were defeated in the primary election.

A third incumbent, Catherine Bowers, and Susan Kefover won the Democratic nominations, while Doug Morley and Paul Heimel were nominated by Republicans.

All registered voters will be eligible to vote for up to two of the four nominees on Nov. 6.

Endeavor News interviewed each candidate on several issues of importance to Potter County. Their responses will appear in each of the next three editions.

Potter County's economy has a long road to travel back from the demise of Adelphia and other challenges. What role do you think the county commissioners can play?

Heimel: One of the most important challenges the next board will face is the gradual rebuilding of Potter County's economy.

Empereon's arrival is welcome news for that sector of our work force. But we can't stop there.

PAUL HEIMEL

Diversity is the key. We will never have another Adelphia, but can build an economic base that is more sustaining. That way, if one sector fails - let's say there's a downturn in the manufacturing sector - we'll still have other industries to sustain us.

There's so much untapped potential all around us with innovative approaches to our agriculture and forest products, as well as tourism.

None of these is a solution in and of itself, but those industries form a foundation for our economy. We need to support them.

I also believe that as society changes, Potter County will be more attractive to young professionals who want to raise their families in an area where they can be a part of a caring community, with a clean environment and a wealth of outdoor recreational opportunities. At the same time, we're only a half-day's drive from 10 metropolitan areas. We have the best of both worlds.

So many people envy us for what we have here.

Bowers: Commissioners should be involved in all aspects of economic development. Three years ago, asked what I was going to do about the projected loss of 1,300 jobs, I said "marketing" was important. Until Adelphia/Time Warner withdrew the jobs, marketing was difficult.

DOUG MORLEY

A survey conducted prior to my taking office gave the worst-case scenario (all jobs lost); medium (half lost), and best (none). That indicated to me that some work was being done toward recovery. Apparently not!

Economic development, marketing and securing jobs involve teamwork. Commissioners, businessmen, Chambers of Commerce, Education Councils, CareerLinks, and Redevelopment Authority and others should work together.

I've attended meetings of community leaders, businessmen, educators, state representatives and others sharing information on "what if?" When the jobs vanished, we did what was planned - worked with governmental and business leaders to promote jobs. Did we have specific entities lined up? No. Nobody could have predicted what was going to happen, or when.

I was also a part of discussions by the Governor's Action Team. I'm committed to businesses. Without a diversity of jobs that will stay, we will only be repeating the tremendous job losses we've recently experienced.

SUSAN KEFOVER

Teams working toward a common goal require coordination and communication. I would like to be a part of that action team.

Morley: It all starts with jobs. Good jobs are necessary for a strong and stable economy. Retaining and creating good, familysustaining jobs will be my chief priority as a commissioner.

Right now we need to grow the economy and I have been working hard as chairperson of the Potter County Redevelopment Authority to do that. We have made some serious progress with Empereon Marketing, but there is still a great deal of work to be done.

The commissioners play a critical role in the economic well-being of the county. The commissioners should be the catalyst ensuring that our communities and business leaders focus on the dynamics of our economy and plan for meeting future economic challenges.

The Adelphia situation has shown the need to look at all sectors of our economic base and proactively determine economic trends, whether they are positive or negative. Potter County's economy could be considered an ecosystem. We need a balance from all areas: high-tech, agriculture, lumber, retail, small business, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, construction, services, education, and tourism.

I believe there is an urgent need to bring the county together to focus on our economy. It's not something that can just be left to chance.

Kefover: The county commissioners' role in strengthening the economy can be significant.

As the chief governing office, the commissioners can prioritize the use of their resources, set the pace for development, encourage ingenuity in all departments, open communication to be a true partner to current employers and potential new employers, be a political voice to state and federal officials for business needs, aggressively market the area, promote growth for a broad diversity of industries, build and repair the infrastructure of our communities (including the housing stock), and promote downtown revitalizations.

In addition, fighting excessive and unreasonably costly government mandates can help relieve undue burdens that can hinder progress. The commissioners can give life to a vision for this county of prosperity and diverse enterprises balanced with wise planning and sensible growth.

With the proper leadership, the road of recovery will be brighter and more successful than in the past.

There have been changes in tourist promotion over the past few years, many of them involving more of a regional strategy. Do you see these changes as positive or negative, and what do you believe can be done to increase revenue from tourism?

Morley: Tourism is one sector with a lot of growth potential. That's why I successfully ran to be on the Potter County Visitors Association Board of Directors two years ago. I wanted to better understand this sector and assist its growth.

I see the more regional approach to tourist promotion as a positive. By pooling marketing dollars and resources, we get better return on our investment. It's extremely important that we fully understand Potter County's unique qualities and opportunities and make sure they are developed and promoted to stand out within that regional framework.

Many small business owners and our state parks continue to report a significant number of first-time visitors. We need to provide a quality experience and meet their expectations, so they will become repeat visitors and will promote us by telling their friends and family what a great place Potter County is to visit.

To increase tourism revenues, businesses need to be fully engaged in the marketing efforts. Through the PCVA, our county is well-represented in the Route 6, Pennsylvania Wilds, and Lumber Heritage initiatives, but it's critical that commissioners fully understand these initiatives, that their actions reflect their understanding, and that they're partners in promoting tourism as well.

Kefover: Adopting a regional approach to tourism has been encouraged by federal and state initiatives that attach monetary incentives to regions implementing this philosophy.

It's a positive change, since it's been proven that tourists will travel farther and stay longer when there are more attractions and experiences to enjoy at their destination. It makes sense to promote "the experience" of Potter County or the Rt. 6 Corridor or the Pennsylvania Wilds and offer a memory-making day or weekend.

For example, a fall weekend can pack a full schedule with hiking one of our picturesque trails, visiting the Lumber Museum, taking a lift ride at Denton Hill, shopping at antique stores and craft shops, browsing local artist exhibits, enjoying festivals and parades, dining on a hearty meal, and then viewing the Dark Skies at Cherry Springs.

There are mounting efforts to increase revenue from tourism from the Lumber Heritage Initiative, the Rt. 6 Heritage Corporation, the Pennsylvania Wilds, PCVA, community groups, organizations, and individual entrepreneurs. The more we can support and improve the scope of recreational and cultural amenities, the more tourists will come, tell others, and return again and again.

Bowers: Tourist promotion is a positive for Potter County. It is difficult to estimate the economic effect that tourism and travel have on any given community without statistics on numbers of visitors, where they stay, where they are going, etc.

Today's visitors are increasingly "experienced visitors" and may not be content to be just a sight-seer. The older baby-boomer may be dominating the tourist market in the next 5-10 years. Potter County must be ready to offer unique, authentic, lifeenriching experiences for our tourists.

These folks appear to want to be involved and to learn about things. Our history is an important factor, since historic experiences seem to be increasingly popular. Also, I can see where ecological vacations may be appealing to today's traveler. This might include agriculture as well as outdoor activities. I also think unique, ethnic and gourmet food items would appeal to visitors.

When you provide an atmosphere that provides an experience, the visitor may tend to stay longer and spend more. We need to work together to find ways to incorporate more experiential activities into our current attractions.

Heimel: Regional tourism promotion is smart. Studies show that most tourists don't care what township or county they're in, but they want to know that they'll have places to eat and sleep, and they're interested in what kind of interesting side trips they can make.

Many are planning their visits in advance using the Internet, so we do need to pull together and make it easy for them.

We need to derive what benefits we can from the regional marketing - Pa. Wilds, Pa. Route 6 Heritage group, etc. - but still zero-in on the tourist potential right here in Potter County.

We're fortunate that the state is investing millions of dollars at Cherry Springs, Lyman Run and the Pa. Lumber Museum. Now we need to match that commitment with innovative tourist promotion that links those places with other opportunities for tourists.

Ski Denton today is a great example of energetic business owners taking a leap of faith to expand to a year-'round facility, in sync with the changing tourism industry.

I also think it's important that we don't lose sight of the fact that hunting and fishing are still major attractions here. We need to support those industries, too.