This interview is part of a weekly series of conversations with candidates for local government positions leading up to the Novmber 4 municipal election in Pittsburg, Kansas. This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
SCHNELLE: Why did you decide to run for the city commission?
BERTONCINO: I got involved in politics back when I was in high school. When I was a senior, my government class took us to an event organized by the Pittsburgh City Commission. It was called Government Day. And there was a professor there who was giving a speech on the benefits of government and all the ways that the government can enhance our lives and improve our lives. Everything from the mundane things like streets, public schools, police, fire departments, and so on, to even things like housing, health care, etc. I'm a big believer that government can either be a tool or a weapon, depending on whose hand it's in. And so because of that, I decided to go to school at Pitt State University, get my bachelor's in political science, and get involved in local politics, organizing, getting people registered to vote, and encouraging people to run for office. And then there's another reason: I recently found myself blessed with a fantastic relationship with a wonderful woman, which came along with five kids. That's been a wonderful experience, but it's also given me an up close and personal look at what a lot of families have to deal with. I know what it's like to struggle. I want to be one of the many hands that use government to help families like mine.
SCHNELLE: What do you want voters to know about you?
BERTONCINO: I've lived here my entire life. I went to public school here. I attended college here at Pittsburg State University. Pittsburgh is my home. I love Pittsburgh. I want Pittsburgh to be a place that people choose to live and raise their families. The two main focuses of my campaign are affordability and accessibility. You know, I want Pittsburgh to be an affordable place for everybody. In Pittsburgh, the two biggest draws for affordability are housing and childcare. I want to ensure that we provide sufficient, affordable housing for people. I want to ensure we are providing enough affordable childcare for people. And then on the housing side of things, I'm a big believer that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to housing. Every family, every individual has different housing needs. I grew up in a three-bedroom, four-bedroom, if you stretched it, a single-family home, and it worked great for me and my family. But I know that for other people, that might not work best for me. Whatever it is, I want to ensure we provide a full continuum of care. And then on the accessibility front, I think Pittsburgh is very unique in the sense that we have a lot of really great community services organizations like the Wesley House, organizations like the Recycling Center, SK Humane Society, that do a lot of great work for the community. I also know a lot of them are struggling. And so, I want to ensure that everyone has access to all the excellent services we offer here in Pittsburgh. And I want to ensure that Pittsburgh remains affordable, so that everyone can live here.
SCHNELLE: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
BERTONCINO: These local elections that happen all the time, they oftentimes will get overlooked. They're not the big, juicy elections like running for President or running for Congress. But I think they're in many ways the most important elections that we could vote in. It would directly impact your life and the lives of all of us. One of the major issues the city commissioners are currently addressing is whether to raise property taxes. The goal, as they claim to do, is to help support schools. This involves ensuring that our schools can provide for our kids and give them the best education possible. That's deeply important to me. However, I also understand that for many people, a property tax increase at this time would be devastating. And so these are the type of decisions that are going to be decided by this election. And so I want transparency. I want to ensure that if we're going to raise taxes, I want to know where the money is going and what it's actually funding. I'm a big believer that if you love something, you show up for it. And I love Pittsburgh, and I love the people in Pittsburgh. And so I'm going to show up for Pittsburgh, and I'm going to show up for them. And I hope other people will show up on November 4th.
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