Lee Wong
No response
Mark S. Welch
No response
Trent W. Emeneker
Education: M.B.A., Columbia Business School; M.A. of international affairs, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs
Community Involvement: Self-employed as a consultant helping technology firms deliver their products
Why are you seeking elected office? VFW Post 7696, American Legion Post 681, president emeritus Furman University Rugby Foundation
Why are you seeking elected office? My family and I moved to West Chester five years ago after I left active duty and earned my M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. A job brought us to the area and we chose West Chester to live in out of the many other locations we could have. My wife and I have two sons, who are 5 and 3, and I want to make sure West Chester stays the kind of place they would choose to live and work in when they are grown. Service to country and community matter to me, and this is a way I can live out those values in a new way.
Why should voters elect you? I bring a new and different perspective to the board. My experience in the Marine Corps, with 10 years of active duty time and 10 more in the Reserves where I currently serve, has given me the chance to work with and lead Americans of all backgrounds and persuasions. My family is young, so I understand very well what families are looking for in a community, but thanks to my parents moving to the area, also understand what senior citizens are looking for. A job brought my family and I to West Chester, but after being laid off when COVID hit, I started my own business and now work as a consultant helping technology companies deliver their products. In addition, whether you think term limits are a good idea or not, I believe it is healthy in any organization to have new blood. I’m the only candidate who hasn’t been elected repeatedly.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? First, listen to voters to hear and understand what people want and need, not only in West Chester as a whole, but also in their particular neighborhoods. Second, bring a voice of common sense fiscal conservatism to office. That means I won’t support vanity projects like spending more than $2.3 million on landscaping for the Union Centre Interstate exit, or more than $350,000 on a “pocket park” at Cin-Day and Station Roads that doesn’t have parking and is about the size of my deck. Instead, I will support pragmatic improvements that maintain our safe community and infrastructure, while prioritizing things that make people’s lives better over vanity projects. For example, I strongly support finding a way to re-open a place for senior citizens in our community to gather. Third, understand what residents want and need West Chester to look like in 20 years. As we rapidly run out of buildable land, we must make sure our decisions take our desire for the future into account. We also have to listen to, and prioritize, what residents want. Growth is good, but growth that ignores what residents want and need is not good.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? I’ve been out meeting people in their neighborhoods and knocking on doors, and I will continue to do that. Asking people what they care about at their front door, or while they are out walking in their neighborhood, has been hugely valuable to me as I listen and learn from them. To bring a voice of fiscal conservatism to office, my lens will be to know that we can’t do everything, but we can and should do some things. Understanding the things that are valued the most, and bring the most benefit to West Chester, also comes from listening to the community. It’s time to re-address our master development plan and make sure that what we have now is what the community truly wants. As time passes, our community has grown and evolved, and we need to make sure our current planning reflects our current needs and desires.
Anything else? This is a nonpartisan race and I’m running as a nonpartisan, even though I’m a registered Republican. I’m doing that because I’m a Lt. Col. in the Marine Corps Reserves and as long as I wear our country’s uniform, will not accept partisan endorsement or run as a partisan candidate. Legally, I could, but ethically it just doesn’t sit right with me.