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Politics & Government

Sharon Kuhn-Hanchett Seeking Another Term on Council

Her family has been committed to the community for generations.

Sharon Kuhn-Hanchett, a fourth generation Swissvale resident, is ready for another term on borough council.

Her grandfather built a house in Swissvale when it was mostly farm country.

“I did have the opportunity to move, but I chose to stay here because I think it’s important for a family to have roots and a history," she said. "It’s important for children to grow up in a safe community. There’s nothing like your children playing with the children of people you grew up with.”           

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Kuhn-Hanchett has three children ages 13, 11, and 10, who are now the fifth generation Swissvale residents in the family. She comes from a long line of politicians who are dedicated to their communities. Her father has been a school board director for more than 30 years.

“I grew up in a family that was involved in community service,” Kuhn-Hanchett said. “I think it’s important to have a say in what goes on in your community. I live here. It’s important for me to make sure it stays the way I knew it when I was growing up.”

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Kuhn-Hanchett went to the University of Pittsburgh and has a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. During her time on council, she has been very involved with the Mon Valley Initiative, whose goal is to get all of the communities in the Mon Valley to work together to get things accomplished.  She has also been working on getting more properties back on the tax roll.

“We have a considerable amount of blighted, dilapidated, or vacant properties. We can’t function as a borough without an adequate budget, and our budget is formed from our taxes. If we have a vacant property, then no one is paying taxes,” she said.

She wants to keep the community safe, make sure properties are up to code, and keep the neighborhood looking nice. Kuhn-Hanchett's number one priority is finances.

“We have a very large budget, and we’re still providing quite a bit of service to the community, but we have to find creative ways to do it,” she said.

Right now, council is in the process of combining the paid and volunteer fire departments, while still providing service to the community. The 911 services currently provide as a first-responder, and most of the area’s firefighters are ALS certified, and can provide life-support.

“It’s going to be important to be fiscally responsible and hold people accountable to spend our dollars wisely,” Kuhn-Hatchett said. “That’s going to be our next four years.”

Having a full-time police force in the community is extremely important to Kuhn-Hanchett.

“I think it’s important to have foot traffic in our business district,” she said.

Kuhn-Hanchett believes that her communication skills will help her to connect local communities and succeed on council.

“I am a great communicator,” she said, “I think it’s going to be really important for the communities in the East End to communicate well together, and to start talking about the ways to start saving money as an entire East End. I see that as the future.”

Kuhn-Hanchett's family is committed to their community. Her husband is running for the school director position for Woodland Hills. Her daughter Katie, 11, just assisted in running the local Easter egg hunt, and helped to organize the recycling project at her school.

“My husband and I are very hardworking people, and Swissvale is about hardworking people. I feel like I fit that description,” Kuhn-Hanchett said.

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