Five Republican hopefuls are vying for four Slippery Rock borough council seats up for grabs in the May 16 primary election.

Four members of council are hoping to reclaim their seats: Lauren Christmann, John K. Hicks, Ronald C. Steele and Denton Zeronas. Newcomer Jennifer Ravert also is seeking election.

Democratic candidates Bob Bowser and Jonathan Foust are running uncontested in the primary and will compete against the Republican candidates for seats on council in the November general election.

The top four vote-getters will win seats on council.

Christmann has resided in the borough almost 30 years and is employed at Slippery Rock University. She has served on council the past four years.

“During that time, I have helped the community through (the COVID-19 pandemic) and have tried to remain sensitive to the needs of the community,” she said. “In addition, and most significantly, I have tried to be vigilant about the protection of the residents of Slippery Rock in terms of safety and fiscal responsibility.”

Christmann said she was prompted to run for the position because she wants to keep the borough a nice place to live.

The three issues she wants to address in the municipality are safety, reasonable living costs and increased business and job growth.

“I really care about this community. I live here, work here, and know the people who reside here,” she said. “The way to resolve these issues is with proactive leadership. Decisions need to be made based on the best interests of the community.”

Hicks said he has lived in the borough for 50 years, is a graduate of SRU and a staff member of the Secondary Education/Foundations of Education Department. He’s also taught at Slippery Rock High School.

Appointed to the board in February 2022, Hicks said he has helped connect the university and its students to the borough and has worked on the development of the vacant lot at Main and New Castle streets.

“I felt it was time to volunteer my time to the borough because it is my hometown, and I can't deny the positive formative influence the town and its people have had on my life, including my professional successes. You have to give back,” he said.

His goals are to increase the borough’s connection with SRU and to bring growth to the community.

“As much as I absolutely love the town, ever since I arrived as an 8-year-old kid in 1973, I haven't been satisfied with what the town has to offer. Having visited plenty of other college towns in the U.S., I want to work to make this an even more outstanding place to live and learn in. The town has grown in tremendous ways since I graduated … but we can do more,” he said.

“More economic growth, more attractive places to live and more work on the health of the town and university since they are inseparable — we need to work together to make (it) a great place to be,” he continued.

Steele said he retired in 2001 as a police officer and safety manager for the borough and for Slippery Rock University. He has been a Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company fireman since 1957.

“I served on council on and off for the past 30 years. I’m proud of being a part of expanding the police and street departments,” he said.

Born and raised in Slippery Rock, Steele said during his time on council, he has worked to ensure the community stays a safe and solid one.

If reelected, Steele said he wants to continue being fiscally conservative and provide residents with no tax raises.

“The top three issues affecting the municipality are economic growth, maintaining the infrastructure and keeping taxes low. I will continue to vote in favor of projects that help those issues,” he said.

In 2017, Zeronas became the first active SRU student to be on council and has served on the board ever since.

He serves as park director for Slippery Rock Area Parks & Recreation, head wrestling coach for Slippery Rock High School, and vice president of borough council.

In addition to contributing to bringing Dunkin’ and other businesses to the borough, Zeronas said he has contributed to events that increase foot traffic in town and held fast to the decision not to raise taxes.

“I believe that the most important thing we have accomplished is restoring some faith in the community for what an elected board is able to work together on for the betterment of the community,” he said. "(Council has) made efforts to reduce wasteful spending and find ways for residents to keep a little more in their pocketbooks.”

The issues Zeronas said he hopes to address if reelected are water mitigation, infrastructure and budgeting.

“My goals are to maintain much of the course of action as I have done for the last five or so years, which is to ensure that taxpayers' money is spent as effectively as possible, looking for alternative revenue generating/saving measures to avoid any tax increases, look at code/ordinances to find ways to encourage new businesses to open in town or help residents and to provide ideas/ points of view for the “younger” generation,” he said.

A full-time administrative assistant and longtime borough resident, Ravert said she regularly has attended council meetings since 2021 and is a member of the borough’s planning commission.

Ravert said she feels she would be a valuable contributor to conversations and decisions regarding the municipality.

“I am running for this position because I would like to contribute to finding solutions for issues and helping to manage the growth and development of our community,” she said.

If elected, she said her goal is to see the continued support of community members, public servants and volunteer organizations through improved communication with council.

“I feel the top three issues here are stormwater management, infrastructure and streetlights. I am running for office to be able to contribute to conversations regarding solutions and making fiscally responsible votes to make Slippery Rock borough the best it can be,” she said.

Bowser retired from his job in specialty printing in 2010, and served three previous terms on council between 2005 and 2017.

Jonathan Foust is a newcomer to public office, and has worked in numerous borough businesses while pursuing a career in 3D modeling.