Johnstown and Milliken elections to be held Tuesday

The political race is on this week in Johnstown and Milliken.

Elections for a new Mayor and council members will be held Tuesday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at respective town halls, and the candidates have spent the week vying for votes.

In the mayoral race for Johnstown, incumbent Troy Mellon is running against council member Mark Romanowski.

Mellon said he is optimistic looking toward his third term, and he hopes his experience in office will carry him through with voters.

"The experience I've had in the last two terms, the fact that the government seems to be in good shape, no controversies, and everything pretty much running even keel," said Mellon, describing why he is the right candidate for the job.

Romanowski, a council member since 2004, said he is not running against Mellon, rather he is running for mayor. The two issues that he is passionate about are transportation and economic development.

There are key issues facing Johnstown, one major issue is regional transportation.

"We have annexed a lot of territory, those roads are in terrible shape," said Romanowski, who also is concerned about the vitality of downtown businesses.

As for the town council seat's, there are three seats open and three incumbents running unopposed. Current council members Chad Young, Gary Lebsack and Aaron Townsend are running for their positions.

In Milliken's election, the incumbent Linda Measner is running against Janie Lichtfuss and Charles H. Martin for mayor.

Maeasner said she doesn't want to get overconfident about her bid for a second term but hopes she gets reelected.

"I have been involved in a lot of the progress in Milliken, and there are still a number of things I would like to see happen," said Measner, citing completing the new police station.

Lichtfuss, a former trustee and Mayor-protem from nearly six years, said she is running for mayor because it will provide her more validity to accomplish improvements for Milliken. Her main goal is vision for the community.

Martin did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Colleen Anthony, Jack Eckert, incumbent Peggy Wakeman and James Gardner are running for the three openings on the Milliken board of trustees. Trustee Jerri Hatshorn decided not to run again, and Lichtfuss is running for mayor.

What's Next

Elections will be held Tuesday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at The Milliken Town Hall, 1101 Broad St. for Milliken residents, and the Johnstown Town Hall, 101 Charlotte St., for Johnstown residents.