Incumbants Mark Higgins and Amber Concepcion each will be listed on the Primary ballot on May 16.

Barring any write-in candidates, the pair are expected to move onto the November election.

The League of Women Voters of Centre County once again compiled capsules for area races.

The material seen here was compiled by the candidates and the League of Women Voters of Centre County (LWVCC) with assistance from the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. Each candidate’s reply has been printed as submitted by the candidate.

Amber Concepcion

Candidates were invited to participate in the Vote411 online voter’s guide via email. All reasonable efforts were made to encourage candidates to participate.

Nothing should be construed as an endorsement or non-endorsement of any candidate, party or initiative by the League of Women Voters or The Express.

AMBER

CONCEPCION

Amber Cistaro Concepcion is the newest member of the Board of Commissioners — having replaced then-chair Michael Pipe in early 2022. A native of Centre County, Conception returned to the area in 2007 to raise her family. She earned a graduate degree in government from Georgetown University. Prior to being appointed to the board, Concepcion served 11 years on the State College Area School District board of Directors, most of that time as board president.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: My priorities include: excellence in providing human services to our citizens, strong public safety and emergency management across the county and supporting small businesses / farms to revitalize local communities. I will work to strengthen the mental health services provided in our county, and ensure that mental and behavioral healthcare continues to be provided for returning citizens in our corrections facility. I will prioritize working with municipal partners to ensure strong emergency services across the county, including pursuing grant funding in this area. As a small business owner, I know how important collaborative local economic development is. I will work on economic development and revitalization efforts, including partnerships with nonprofit organizations in our communities, to support entrepreneurs, small businesses and farms in our county. Prudent and frugal long-term financial planning is key to the county achieving its most important goals within our financial means.

MARK HIGGINS

Mark Higgins has served on the Centre County Board of Commissioners since being elected in 2015. He’s performed in leadership roles with the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, Workforce Development Committee and is a graduate of Leadership Centre County. Higgins also volunteers with the Cub Scouts, Park District League as a boys soccer coach, State College Cycling, Community Theater. For 30 years, he’s worked as a turnaround specialist in industry and, over that time, saved and created hundreds of jobs at seven different businesses. Higgins also volunteers time to mentor four Penn State student startups. Three of them have won local awards and two have also won national awards.

Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

A: I will work hard to continue improving the quality of life throughout all of Centre County. We have reduced the number of Centre County residents in the County Correctional Facility by 50% over the last ten years and will add another specialty court and more services. Centre County Government will make significant investments in human services including mental health, libraries, homelessness and housing people can afford. My team will engage with over 100 non-profits in their efforts to make Centre County a better place.

I have reduced the cost to run Centre County Government by many millions of dollars over the last eight years. We have not increased Centre County Government property taxes in 13 years and I will continue to find additional savings inside County Government that will allow us to increase services.

I distributed over $10,500,000 in funding to support small businesses and will continue to support them.