Below are the candidates for mayor’s office in Clearfield Borough and their responses to a questionnaire for publication on GANT News.
The purpose of the questionnaire was so that the borough’s voters could use candidates’ responses to gauge their views, experience and knowledge.
Each candidate was asked the same 10 questions. Candidates were not limited in their responses; thorough, well-thought-out responses were strongly encouraged.
Jason Holencik (R)
Please provide a biographical narrative.
I’m a 2001 graduate of Clearfield High School and attended Le Cordon Bleu in Pittsburgh until 2004. From 2005 to 2012, I did taxes and accounting with H&R Block. My wife and I have been operating a business in the community since 2012.
What motivated your interest in running for mayor of Clearfield Borough?
I’ve seen a decline in population and businesses over the years, which is my driving force for my mayoral candidacy.
What qualifications do you possess that would benefit the mayor’s office?
Efficiency and problem-solving have always been my strong suit. I have wanted the chance to apply them to our community for many years.
How would Clearfield Borough look under your leadership?
Under my leadership, I would encourage residents to become more active in the community and try to restore the sense of pride the area once had.
If elected, how would you reach out and form relationships with Clearfield Borough citizens?
Forming relationships with the people of Clearfield has been the key to my success in business. I talk to residents every day. I have already invited the ones who don’t go out to social establishments to send me messages and set up personal meetings. These actions have led to, and continue to lead to, more relationships being made.
How do you plan to get citizens more involved, specifically with borough decision-making?
Transparency is the biggest way to get more people involved in decision-making within the community. Let them know what is coming up in the meetings before they happen, so they can attend, instead of reading about it the next day.
How would you collaborate with other Clearfield Borough departments, council, community groups, etc.?
I would push to form a commission consisting of delegates from each of the social clubs, fire/police departments and a member of current council to come up with new events and fundraisers for the community.
Do you think Clearfield Borough and its downtown are healthy and successful? If so, why? If not, what would you do to help change that?
Downtown has seen its better days, and is where once there was thriving businesses, but now vacant buildings. I would use my business experience to find new opportunities and businesses to fill these spots.
What are your top three concerns for Clearfield Borough? If elected, how would you address those concerns?
The top three concerns for me are 1. Police 2. Fire 3. Beautification.
With the crime rate and drug usage in the area climbing, I would work with the police chief and district attorney to address the issues and come up with effective enforcement.
The fire departments are also facing sky-rocketing equipment expenses, have outdated apparatus and lack of volunteers. I would work with the fire chiefs to address these shortcomings and find solutions.
This area was deemed an All-American City in 1966. Since then, everywhere you look, you see trash along the streets and houses that are not being maintained.
I would work with the warden of Clearfield County Jail for use of inmate labor to clean things up. I would also push enforcement or demolition of blighted properties to restore property values of the area.
If Clearfield Borough received a $1 million dollar grant to use any way it wanted, how would you use it and why?
First, $1 million doesn’t go very far in the grand scheme of things.
The easy answer is to fix the streets, sewer systems, etc. Over the years, Clearfield government has grown as the private sector workforce has decreased.
I would use that money to promote private business to come into the area, which in turn would create new jobs and a new tax base for a solid future for the next generation.
Mason Strouse (R)
Please provide a biographical narrative.
I am a Clearfield native and graduated from Clearfield Area High School. I earned my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood and Special Education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, and my Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Trauma and Resilience in Education from Concordia University of Nebraska.
I am a first-grade teacher with the Clearfield Area School District and the Director of Music at the Presbyterian Church of Clearfield.
As a way of giving back to my community, I volunteer in numerous ways, most notably with the Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre Inc. (CAST). Since 2016, I have served as treasurer for CAST, having secured numerous grants and funding opportunities and worked with the Finance Committee and Board of Directors to bring CAST out of great debt.
I serve as director or music director for youth productions and organizer of the Seeds of Art Summer Camp. I also led the revitalization of the Clearfield Choral Society and serve as a member and manager of the choir.
At school, I, along with other elementary school teachers and school counselors, founded the All-Pro Dad Breakfast program at the Clearfield Area Elementary School that’s aimed at involving fathers and father figures in their student’s school culture, education and overall success.
I am currently a member of the Clearfield Borough Council. I serve as the chairperson for the Finance Committee and I am a member of the Public Safety Committee.
I was recognized for my involvement in our local community when I was awarded the Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award by the Greater Clearfield Chamber of Commerce in October of 2018.
I am the son of Brenda and Joe Strouse of Clearfield. I live in Clearfield with my wife, Kellie, and stepsons, Jake and Wyatt. I am a member of the Clearfield Presbyterian Church.
I am an avid supporter of the arts and culture of Clearfield and enjoy playing the piano. As a family, we enjoy exploring the wilds and small towns of Pennsylvania and strive to help entice others to visit the Clearfield area.
What motivated your interest in running for mayor of Clearfield Borough?
I have always been interested in community involvement. I believe the only way to make something better is by being part of it and contributing to it.
I made the decision, after college, to stay in Clearfield because of how much I love our community. When I could have landed anywhere to start my career, and eventually a family, I chose Clearfield.
I was elected to the Clearfield Borough Council a few years ago, and as a member of Council, I felt there was maybe just a little more that I could be doing to propel Clearfield forward.
Being so involved in the community already, through CAST, my church and in other ways, I already had people that called me Mayor Mason. The opportunity to run for mayor presented itself at a time when I was looking to increase my involvement in the community, and I decided to run for election.
What qualifications do you possess that would benefit the mayor’s office?
Being the mayor is about connecting with your community, supporting your community and doing what is best for your community. As mayor, one of my primary goals is being present and active in the community, working to make Clearfield a better place to live, work and visit.
Simply put, I am already doing that. I am actively part of CAST, the Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre, as our treasurer, director of youth shows, director of communications, grant writer and musician.
I have experience in finances, fundraising and grant writing through my involvement as treasurer at CAST. I have worked, with others, to secure thousands of dollars in donations and grant funding to help save this once dying arts organization.
I am a first-grade teacher. I interact with all kinds of teachers, staff and administrators at my school each day, not to mention my students and their families. Having this direct insight into the community is very beneficial.
I am the Director of Music at the Clearfield Presbyterian Church. I volunteer with music and drama programs at Clearfield Area Junior-Senior High School. I help organize the All-Pro Dad Breakfasts at Clearfield Elementary School.
I manage and sing in the Clearfield Choral Society. I am a member of the committee for the Clearfield Skatepark. And, I help promote and support all kinds of local businesses.
In addition to this community involvement, being a smiling face, a listening ear and a positive presence are something I do well and can contribute to our community.
How would Clearfield Borough look under your leadership?
I believe our community is well-represented by the Clearfield Borough Council. We have a team of council members and staff that are working well together to make a Clearfield a great place to work, live and visit.
Although I would like to continue these efforts, I always believe there is room for growth and improvement. I would like to see people continuing to work together for the betterment of our town.
Under my leadership, I will also work to increase the visibility of our borough government through a more comprehensive Web site and social media presence.
It is important that our citizens, businesses and organizations know specifically what is happening in our local government. I believe a better online presence, that is easier to navigate from a public perspective and easier to maintain from an administrative perspective, is very important.
If elected, how would you reach out and form relationships with Clearfield Borough citizens?
My community involvement has already been mentioned. This will continue and increase as I engage with even more of the people, businesses and organizations in our community. The increased online presence I mentioned will also be very valuable to keep citizens informed. My goal is to be open and honest with the citizens I represent.
How do you plan to get citizens more involved, specifically with borough decision-making?
I am very pleased to see a number of people running for positions on our Clearfield Borough Council. This shows me that people want to be involved.
It seems that we always have vacant seats on the various boards or committees with our Borough Government. I would like to see these filled by people who are interested, instead of leaving them sit vacant for so long.
Part of my goal for the revamped Clearfield Borough Web site would include a specific section for residents to find opportunities to get involved.
How would you collaborate with other Clearfield Borough departments, council, community groups, etc.?
The various aspects of our borough community should be well-represented and supported. I have been very public about my support of our police and volunteer fire departments.
These men and women work tirelessly to keep our community safe and deserve all the respect and support we can give them. As mayor, I will continue to be there supporting them.
I believe in making sure our police force and volunteer fire companies are well-funded and properly staffed. This allows our police and fire departments to operate efficiently as they keep our community safe. This will always be a priority of mine.
As for our street department, they are another group of very hardworking people that keep our streets, parks and other parts of Clearfield operating effectively. As mayor, I want to be able to support them in any way possible, even though it is not technically under the umbrella of the mayor.
As for our community groups and organizations, again, I will be present and supportive of all of them as much as I can be. I look forward to it!
Do you think Clearfield Borough and its downtown are healthy and successful? If so, why? If not, what would you do to help change that?
I know I was not alive to see Clearfield “back in the day” when it was named an All-American City. I know we have all kinds of problems with drugs, poverty, lack of industry and overall trauma.
However, when looking at our downtown, I do see a lot of progress. I see events, I see new sidewalks, I see well-maintained streets, I see business with vibrant storefronts and well-kept buildings. I do not think we can ever get back to what once was. I am, however, confident that we can make improvements and support what we do have.
My wife and I take our kids all over Pennsylvania to visit small towns, big cities, state parks and all sorts of fun attractions along the way. Each time we travel, I am impressed with how well Clearfield measures up against other small towns of similar size.
In Clearfield Borough, we have a grocery store, a movie theater, an art gallery, a community theater, banks, the headquarters of a local bank with serval branches/subsidiaries in multiple states, nationally-recognized hunting stores, museums, gas stations, a bowling alley, several thriving, small businesses, restaurants, churches, multiple non-profit organizations, and much, much more. Not to mention, we are the county seat. Not every community, especially of our size, has these kinds of offerings.
Having grown up in Clearfield, I know it is very easy for some to speak badly of our community, especially if they choose to move away. I have traveled all over our state, our country, and even internationally, and I still love coming home to live and work in Clearfield, Pa.
What are your top three concerns for Clearfield Borough? If elected, how would you address those concerns?
The Clearfield Borough Government could do a better job of being more visible. As mayor, I will work to increase the visibility of our borough government through a more complete Web site and a social media presence.
This will include information that is important to area residents, such as information about our recycling program, searchable local ordinances, volunteer opportunities, important announcements, contact info and recognition of local citizens.
This has been something I have been fighting for as a member of council and will continue to do so as mayor. We need the Web site to be easy for our staff to maintain and for our citizens to navigate.
When speaking with residents, one of the biggest concerns I hear is that roads need paved. I could not agree more. After some investigating, I recently learned just how expensive it is to pave roads. It is way more expensive than most people probably realize. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to do any paving in 2020.
I know there is paving scheduled for 2021. Our street department does the best they can at maintaining roads, but sometimes they just need fixed or replaced. I would like to work to address how funding can be arranged to better support this issue.
I touched on community engagement earlier, but one of my concerns/goals is to increase community engagement. We live in a great community. We have a lot to offer. We have a lot of people who have a lot to offer.
I would like to see us tap into our greatest resource, our residents, to help propel Clearfield forward. We have several groups in and around Clearfield Borough that host events within the Borough. We have the Clearfield Revitalization Corp., the Clearfield Chamber of Commerce, Visit Clearfield County and others.
I would like to serve as a kind of liaison between these groups to coordinate events in Clearfield. We should all be working together to bring events into Clearfield. We should be able to openly share ideas, resources and people to make those events happen.
If Clearfield Borough received a $1 million dollar grant to use any way it wanted, how would you use it and why?
As mentioned earlier, I have found that one of the biggest concerns for residents in their roads. Therefore, if we were granted $1 million, I would like to see us pave some of the residential roads. It seems that a lot of our residential roads, because they are not necessarily heavily traveled, are sometimes falling apart.
Not to mention the alleyways of our borough, many of which are still dirt, or in some rare cases, brick. Fixing and replacing this kind of infrastructure would save the borough a lot of money in maintenance costs, it would make our residents happier, and would literally make Clearfield Borough easier to navigate.