A veteran of Williamsport City Council has announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination for City Council in the May 18 primary.

City resident Liz Miele, who serves as council vice president, has announced her intention to seek the nomination and re-election.

Miele was first elected to the position in 2009, and re-elected in 2013 and 2017, and stated she is excited to serve the city of Williamsport for another four-year term.

“During my time on City Council, we’ve begun to address several concerns central to the governance of the city, chief among them the necessity of growing the city tax base rather than continuing to increase taxes,” she said, “but we’re also addressing other important issues, such as utilizing our zoning and codes tools to encourage beneficial development within the city, increasing our urban tree canopy and working to create a lean yet functional city budget that maximizes our strongest asset — city employees — while minimizing waste.”

“Liz has shown over the years that she cares about the people of Williamsport and is really good about making the decisions that are necessary to make the city run well,” said Stacey Butterfield, her campaign manager.

“This past year has shown that because it has been hard on everyone,” Butterfield said.

Miele was among the group of councilpersons that looked at the city budget and is leading the way to find cuts to reduce the burdens on taxpayers, Butterfield said.

Over the past year, Miele has helped lead the city through the financial challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, working with council members to identify specific cuts to the city budget that reduced a proposed 2021 tax increase by 1.75 mills.

“She has a lot of plans for the future of the city,” Butterfield said. Among those: Increasing smart business development, preserving city history and its nature beauty and getting young people involved in politics and running of the city.

“She has shown her ability to work with everyone on council regardless of party affiliation,” Butterfield said.

Born and raised in Williamsport, Miele graduated from Williamsport Area High School in 1997 and received her bachelor of arts degree from Brown University in 2001.

Since 2005, Miele has worked as the executive chef at the Peter Herdic House restaurant, and in 2013, Miele became co-owner of the restaurant, with her cousin Dante Miele-Elion.

She is a mother of three.

“When I look at Williamsport and our municipal government, I’m thrilled to see new, young citizens becoming actively involved both in our community and on our municipal boards,” Miele said.

“New voices will help drive the city’s present to new heights, and will make us an even better, wiser, more beautiful and more sustainable community in the years to come,” she said.

“I hope that with my experience, I can help advise and guide these new individuals as they become committed residents and advocates and eventually encourage my own children to invest their energy, as we’re doing, in our local community.”

Miele is the chair of council’s finance committee, committee on historic preservation and housing needs committee.

She serves on the economic revitalization committee and is the city council representative to the East Third St. Commission.

During her council tenure, she has also served on the public works committee and the Ad Hoc City Hall Committee.

“In both my work as a restaurateur and my work as a councilperson, I strive in every way to build a thriving community — whether it’s supporting our local growers and producers or working with our local organizations and our citizens to make the city a better place for all of us to live and work,” she said.

Miele was a co-founder of the Williamsport Guardian, and, after her tenure as co-editor, she served on the board of Williamsport Independent Media.

She has also served on the boards of Lose Community Garden and Project CoffeeHouse.

For more information about Miele’s campaign, visit lizforwilliamsport.com