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Franklin Park Mayor O'Keefe facing challenger Naik in November election | TribLIVE.com
North Allegheny

Franklin Park Mayor O'Keefe facing challenger Naik in November election

Natalie Beneviat
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Dennis O’Keefe is running for re-election as Franklin Park Mayor in the Nov. 2, 2021 general election.

Incumbent Dennis O’Keefe faces challenger Sumana Naik in the race for mayor of Franklin Park in the Nov. 2 election.

The mayor is elected at-large and serves a four-year term.

Here are the candidates’ responses to questions posed by the North Allegheny Journal.

Sumana Naik

Political party: Democrat

Age: 43

Education: Bachelor of Arts in decision information systems, University of Maryland

Occupation: Homemaker

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

1. My first goal will be to restore transparency and accountability to the borough. The community needs to be aware of new developments and have input in the process. While the current council makes notional steps towards transparency, these are not near enough as many residents remain unaware of new developments being approved in their backyards.

Another goal will be to improve wireless service in the borough. While gaps in service coverage do impact residents in a negative way, they also impact our emergency services. It is obviously unacceptable that our emergency services can be out of coverage while performing a duty within the borough. I believe we can work on improving coverage while not sacrificing safety or appearance.

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

I would like to increase community involvement in borough government. Having more involved citizens automatically increases transparency and accountability. Similarly, having more events sponsored by the borough will help foster a greater sense of community amongst our residents.

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

Not as many people sit down and read the paper anymore — and that’s a one-way process. We can better utilize email and social media to not only better disseminate information but also get input back from the community.

Dennis O’Keefe

Political party: Republican

Age: 80

Education: Robert Morris Business College, completed specialized course of instruction pertaining to airline operations, customer service and management; American Airlines, Industry trained by what is now American Airlines in customer service management and operations.

Occupation: Retired after 33 years in customer service management for American Airlines and 12 years, general manager, Lenzner Coach Lines and Pittsburgh Transportation

If elected, what are two short-term goals?

Maintain Franklin Park’s established reputation as a most desirable community to live. This includes ongoing support for our Police Department and Volunteer Fire Company to maintain the safety and protection of our residents and the continuing development of our beautiful parks and recreation facilities. These goals are always at the top of my priorities and resulted in Franklin Park being named No. 1 Best Place to live in Pennsylvania in 2018 and 2019 by USA Today.

To continue to work closely with state government and Allegheny Land Trust in the development of new green space as it becomes available and affordable. It was through this cooperation that we acquired 178 acres of pristine land which will soon be part of Linbrook Park in the Spring of 2022. This new parcel will offer walking trails and a recreation pavilion for the long-term enjoyment of our residents.

If elected, what is one long-term goal?

Continue our program to replace aging stormwater infrastructure and increase capacity to handle the more extreme rain events which have become more recently common. All improvements will take into account any potential downstream impact and will include to the extent possible green infrastructure such as rain gardens, infiltration detention facilities and bioswales.

How do you plan to communicate with constituents and involve them in the decision-making process?

I will continue to respond personally to any constituent inquiries which are directed to me. In addition, all borough council, board and commission meetings are open to public attendance either in person or via Zoom video access. We update residents regularly through our website and email blasts and are hiring a communications professional to enhance our social media presence and information.

Natalie Beneviat is a Trib Total Media contributing writer.

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Categories: Local | North Allegheny
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