Although Steve Shope plans to formally announce his bid for the Democratic party's nomination for Lycoming County commissioner at 7 p.m. tonight at the Pajama Factory, the Loyalsock Township resident has been preparing for his candidacy for a long time.
"I've been laying the groundwork for my campaign for over a year, networking and meeting with business and community leaders," Shope said recently.
Discussions with area business owners, as well as Shope's own experience operating a small business, have highlighted an issue he said needs to be addressed on the county level - that small businesses need more support.
"As a small business owner, when the recession hit, none of the support that came out of the federal government or any other level of government helped me," Shope said. "Unemployment was extended and big business got bailouts, but there was no help for small businesses."
Shope said the biggest challenges facing Lycoming County is unemployment, increases in home foreclosures and the lack of support for small businesses.
Addressing the latter issue, he said, can go a long way in solving the former issues.
"The majority of the population is employed by small businesses, but we don't look at small business as a route to growth," Shope said. "There is a lot we can do to support the existing small business community and encourage new business development. That is where the potential for job creation exists."
Shope said a bipartisan effort by local government and the community is needed to develop a plan to improve the local economy.
"We need a comprehensive plan that accounts for all the stakeholders in the community, including small business. It's not 'either-or' - it's got to include everybody," he said. "With an unsteady national economy, we can no longer get by locally without such a plan."
"I'm a Democrat because I believe in the blue-collar work force and supporting the underdog," he said, "but I think in today's economic climate, we need a bipartisan effort in addressing these issues."
Shope said he has the background and expertise to guide the county toward economic stability.
He served as senior executive of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Williamsport office, where he was responsible for office and field operations in 11 northcentral Pennsylvania counties.
He founded a consulting firm that specialized in process improvement and cost reduction programs in the manufacturing industry. Shope worked with companies such as Merck, General Mills, H.J. Heinz and Chrysler, among others.
Shope designed curriculum and instructed courses in profitability for the Workforce Development Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology and served as regional director of Volunteers of America, Williamsport.
His civic involvement includes service with the mayor's Council of Economic Advisers, the board of Keystone Credit Union, state Court Appointed Special Advocate Association and Campbell Street Community Center, and as a committee member of Our Towns 2010 and Main Street programs, and member of the county Democratic Party Executive Board.
His education includes executive leadership and management through the University of Notre Dame, real estate fundamentals and practice at Penn State and global economics at the College of Management Studies, Jerusalem, Israel.
The single parent of two teenage children, Shope said he believes serving as county commissioner will provide him with an opportunity to effect positive change throughout the county.
"There are issues I can absolutely effect change in just by virtue of having the title of commissioner and being able to put some leverage of that office behind grassroots efforts to improve the community and economy in this area," Shope said.
For more information on Shope's campaign, visit www.steveshope.com.
