5 candidates competing for 3 McKeesport council seats

Jill Brewster Lape and Brian Evans are the incumbents in Tuesday’s primary race.

Adam Alfer

Five candidates will be on the ballot for three seats on McKeesport’s city council in Tuesday’s primary election.

Incumbent Democrats Jill Brewster Lape and Brian Evans will face opposition from Democratic candidates Joe Lopretto, Jessica Johnson, and Adam Alfer.

Brewster

Brewster was appointed to council to replace her sister, Jamie Brewster Filotei, who passed away in 2020. Brewster ran in the following election and won unopposed.

Jill Brewster Lape

Brewster is a McKeesport Area School District teacher and attended college at West Virginia State University. She has grown up in McKeesport, and said she’s become very familiar with the community as an educator.

Her main goals on council have been to help local youths, continue good communication and create opportunities for young people to become involved.

Another priority is to continue open communication with state legislators to receive funding, something that has already helped the city.

“Unfortunately, our city we don’t get a lot of funding from the city itself, so we have to go

Brian Evans

elsewhere,” she said. “And thankfully, our state officials, Sen. (Jim)Brewster, state Rep. Dan Goughnour, and our former state Rep. Matthew Gergely, have been crucial in getting us that funding. So just keep those open communication lines so that we can receive the help that we need.”

Johnson

Johnson is a McKeesport native who graduated from California University of Pennsylvania (now PennWest California) with an undergrad degree with a concentration in political science and a master’s degree in regional planning.

Johnson has a 20-year background in the financial

Jessica Johnson

services industry, working at PNC, which she believes would aid her if elected.

“I know that with our current state of McKeesport, I think I can add value with all of the skills that I’ve managed to attain over the years,” Johnson said. “Between my education and my life experience, professional experience working with people, whether it’s through my church or different organizations in the community.”

Johnson told the Mon Valley Independent that one of her first priorities is revitalization. She believes that the city should aim to bring new businesses to the area and pivot to new industries like

Joe Lopretto

technology and artificial intelligence.

Her second priority would be to continue to push for an increase in the staffing of EMS services to lessen the burden on current first responders. She said the city might have to look into regionalizing services to provide better service and bring in more funds.

She wants to strengthen the relationship between local government and the community by keeping residents informed of ongoing projects and more.

Evans

Evans has been on McKeesport City Council for eight years and said he’s learned how difficult the position can be. He wants to continue the work he has started.

“This administration, all the blighted houses that we’ve taken down in the past five to six years,” Evans said. “And we know we still have so much more to do. But it’s just incredible to see how much is been brought down. And you drive around the city and see how much still needs done.”

If reelected, Evans said he would make it a priority to continue working on the McKeesport Rising program. It began in 2018 in an effort to invest in new infrastructure, get rid of blight and create new recreational opportunities.

Evans works as a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus driver and said McKeesport shares a lot of issues with other local communities.

Alfer

Alfer is a lifelong McKeesport resident. He retired from a 28-year career with the McKeesport Police Department in 2023 after serving as the department’s chief for four years.

Alfer has been the McKeesport Area High School varsity wrestling coach for 25 years. He’s also an active baseball coach for the district.

“In McKeesport, a city council person should have a thorough knowledge of the government’s operations and our community’s needs,” Alfer said. “They should have a history of community involvement and a connection to the people they are elected to represent.”

Alfer said one of his top priorities is public safety, including resources for law enforcement as well as community policing initiatives. A second priority is community and economic development, by making sure the administration, council and community work together to increase McKeesport’s opportunities.

A third priority would be to create more youth programs for the city.

Lopretto

Lopretto served for the McKeesport police department for 23 and a half years and served on the McKeesport Area school board for 16 years. During his time on the police force and school board, he did a lot of community engagement, like creating a local DARE program and starting a senior citizen police academy.

His main priorities include tackling blight in the city, lowering the number of fires and protecting firefighters and first responders.

“So many abandoned houses in the city have been burning lately, and that’s something I think needs to be addressed quickly before somebody does get hurt,” Lopretto said.

Lopretto also wants to start “block watches” around the city so local community residents can help keep each other safe.