Published: May 03, 2009 11:29 pm      

Newcomer challenges Democratic incumbent in Cambria Twp. race

EBENSBURG — In fast-growing Cambria Township, which surrounds the county seat, it’s all about roads.

Dave Hoover has worked for the township for 39 years, and 17 of them have been as one of its three supervisors.

He can operate all of the township’s equipment and is certified in many government processes, including “environmentally sensitive maintenance of dirt and gravel roads.”

For his challenger in the May primary, Tim Bracken, it’s those rural roads that motivate him.

When nighttime gas well drilling began, Bracken attended a township supervisors’ meeting to voice his worries about wear and tear on Lute Road outside of Colver, plus loud noise during drilling.

When he asked drillers why they had to work at night, he said they rudely responded that they could not stop at night to let someone sleep.

Bracken also complained about road deterioration, and supervisors said the company had posted a bond for any damage. After Bracken’s complaints, the company paid for stone that the township applied to the road.

But the overall condition of the township’s many dirt roads and the spring damage that appears as they thaw has been a constant issue between residents such as Bracken and the supervisors.

Hoover says there is more to being in office than paving roads.

“Today, being a supervisor is not a position that just anyone would be able to walk in off of the street and manage,” he said.

“There is much more to the position than in years gone by and much more than anyone can imagine. Experience definitely is the answer,” he said.

Hoover said he is proud that the township has maintained a balanced budget and that the property tax rate has not increased in 17 years.

Both men are running as Democrats.