Michael Murtha—He was appointed to Harrisville’s City Council in May of this year. His wife, Vivienne, and he have been Harrisville residents since 2013. Since his appointment he has been asked by many why he wanted to run for this office and what he hoped to accomplish over the next four years. He replied, “I retired from the USAF in 2009 closing out a 27-year career. The duties and responsibilities of what a City councilman does has been my area of expertise throughout my military career, so I was a great fit for the job. I also have a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. My extensive experience in leadership, management & budgeting coupled with a deep desire to serve my community the way I served my country are the driving reasons why I want this job. My agenda, simply put—I work for you, the citizens and businesses of Harrisville. My areas of focus will be writing and implementing a long range strategic plan, economic development with an emphasis on veteran owned businesses and looking for areas within our budget that need to become more efficient. My take on the future for Harrisville, “just because we’re small doesn’t mean we can’t be great.” I appreciate your support when you vote in helping us achieve this.”
Ruth Pearce: CERT Coordinator Ruth Pearce has worked with CERT for many years and enjoys the training and having people in the community ready for a disaster. She has had ties with Harrisville working with many of the citizens and office personal and has great pride in the community. She wants to make a strong, productive city for people to live in.
Dennis M. Lemp lives on the boarder of Harrisville and North Ogden by Orion Jr. High School. He states, “I’m very interested in getting involved with the City to help with the future growth and concerns. I have a concern now that involves massive amounts of swarming bees in the area that I live. I have seen them on several occasions and I have a great concern over the amount of bees and what can be done about them. I just wanted to bring it to the attention of residents as a precaution.”
Jacob Michael Schlegel was unavailable for comment.
Roger W. Shuman moved to Harrisville in 1972 with his parents. He states, “I not only grew up in Harrisville but I have raised my family in Harrisville. I am running for Council Member because I feel I can contribute to the administration of the City. In my professional life, I have managed a manufacturing business for more than 25 years. I have dealt with budgets and understand the idea of keeping costs in line. I have also spent the last 16 years on the City’s planning commission. It would be a privilege for me to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Harrisville.”
Gary L. Robinson decided to run for City Council because he felt there was a need on the council for someone to help get the budget under control. He feels a need to get more businesses in the City and to reduce the taxes to the citizens and businesses through cutting expenditures. The City has overstepped itself with the addition of the splash pad and too much recreation. He also feels that as the City grows, its charges to the taxpayers should never go up. He would advise shutting the splash pad down and making recreation pay for itself. As far as the City charging citizens to fix their sidewalks, he feels that if the sidewalks truly belong to the citizen, they should be allowed to fence them off. By making the citizens pay for the repairs, the citizen should be allowed to manage them however they see fit to protect their assets. Mr. Robinson is 64 years old and has lived in Harrisville for 35 years. He is married with five children, and has worked as an accountant for over 33 years in the private sector.
Austin Teuscher (write in) Austin said “I am running for Harrisville City Council as a Write-in candidate! I will not show as a printed candidate on the ballots”. She has been very active in the Girl Scouts, School activities she seems to be the go to mom for things. She likes being involved and thought this would be a good way to help give back to the city.
