Members of the Pennsylvania College of Technology family are no strangers to civic involvement, whether taking part in community-service projects, volunteering with nonprofit agencies or as Election Day nears holding or seeking public office.
In Tuesday's primary election for Williamsport City Council, the governing body for the municipality in which the main campus sits, two candidates with a Penn College connection are on the ballot for their respective party's nomination: Republican Don Noviello, an instructor of political science, history and sociology; and Democrat Scott A. Rudinski, who holds an associate degree in mass communication and is enrolled in the paralegal/legal assistant major.
Noviello has degrees in political science and history, as well as a master's degree in education, from Bucknell University, and said his experience in economics might be a part of what he could bring to the table at City Hall.
He serves as vice chairman of the Williamsport Parking Authority and sits on the Williamsport Soap Box Derby steering committee, has coached the Penn College debate team, provides professional tutoring services in the college writing center and has served on the adjunct faculty at The Pennsylvania State University. Noviello was named to the "Marquis America's Who's Who" list in 2010 and received an invitation to participate in the Oxford University roundtable discussions on education in England.
Rudinski formerly worked as a liaison between the YMCA senior director and a number of local concerns, including City Hall, the Williamsport Recreation Commission and Brandon Park Commission, and the residents of Williamsport. He handled the sports and recreation needs of the city for the better part of two years, which, he said, increased his interest in how municipal government functions.
Whomever they support, registered electors are encouraged to exercise their right to vote. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.