McKeesport mayor Cherepko retires; Maglicco named new mayor

In an emotional McKeesport council meeting on Wednesday, Michael Cherepko announced his retirement as mayor and handed the reins to his city administrator, Thomas Maglicco.

Council unanimously accepted Cherepko’s resignation and unanimously voted to appoint Maglicco as the new mayor of McKeesport.

llegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge David Spurgeon administers the oath of office to new city Mayor Thomas Maglicco. Ladimir Garcia / Mon Valley Independent

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge David Spurgeon administers the oath of office to the city’s new fire Chief Kevin Kovach. Ladimir Garcia / Mon Valley Independent

In an emotional speech, Cherepko recounted his 14 years as mayor.

“Serving as your mayor has been the greatest honor of my life,” Cherepko said. “We have experienced so much together — celebrations and milestones along with challenges and setbacks.

In an emotional McKeesport council meeting on Wednesday, Michael Cherepko announced his retirement as mayor.

“No matter what task we had before us, we embraced the motto you’ve heard time and time again: ‘Working Together for a Better McKeesport.’ You have taken that slogan to heart and worked its meaning into your service here on Council and your daily lives.”

Cherepko, during his retirement speech, also highlighted that his time as mayor also included his family.

“I am deeply grateful to my wife and children for their patience and unwavering support during my years in office,” he said. “They carried the weight of the city alongside me, and they sacrificed countless hours of quality time in order to allow me to perform my

Thomas Maglicco

duties. As I move forward in this next chapter of my life, I am able to put my family first, and that is something to which I greatly look forward.”

According to Cherepko, his decision to retire as McKeesport mayor originated after his campaign to become the McKeesport area magisterial district judge. After he lost the election for magistrate, Maglicco said that conversations started between him and Cherepko.

After Maglicco was officially sworn in by Judge David Spurgeon of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, he spotlighted his connections to McKeesport.

“McKeesport is home, it’s where I was raised, it’s where my family built a life, and it’s where my values were shaped,” Maglicco said. “This city taught me hard work, community and resilience. I don’t see my new commitment to the city of McKeesport as a position. I see it as a responsibility.

“As a kid delivering newspapers, I watched families move away as jobs disappeared and mills went quiet; even then, I believed the city could rise again. My grandparents came here from Ireland and Italy, believing in opportunity. My parents taught me the values of service. My mother, as a nurse’s aide, and my father, a public works employee for the city of McKeesport.”

Maglicco said he hopes to appoint the current mayor’s secretary, Jennifer Vertullo, as the new city administrator, and Tasha Johnson Phelps, the current city finance director, as the McKeesport chief financial officer. Maglicco said he will present Vertullo and Phelps to council and that he expects it to be voted on at their next meeting.

Mayor Maglicco

Maglicco, 54, graduated from McKeesport Area High School and is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Kuwait as a supply sergeant in a motor pool during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Maglicco has served as city administrator for the past decade, but he has served the city since 2015, when he became the city controller. Maglicco has also served on the McKeesport Area school board and as the director of the LaRosa Club.

Maglicco also earned an associate degree at the Community College of Allegheny County and a bachelor’s degree in history at California University of Pennsylvania.

Maglicco said that he’s already started working on multiple things, including some summer events to attract more people to the city. He’s also been in talks with local legislators about work on the Versailles Avenue Bridge and other projects.

He added that they’ve started having conversations about a new bike trail through the city.

“The first Saturday or the last Saturday of the month, we’re going to have ‘popup and plays’ for families,” he said. “So we’re going to try to attract bikers to come there and maybe have a food truck, and start building that energy downtown, in that corridor.

“So it’s a slow process, but we think we’re going to get there. And we’re constantly looking for new, innovative ideas.”

New fire chief

Maglicco’s first action as mayor on Wednesday was to ask council to appoint Kevin Kovach as the new McKeesport fire chief.

A member of the McKeesport Fire Department for 24 years, Kovach has represented his fellow firefighters as a union trustee, vice president, and president. He also received special commendation in 2008 during a fire at Hi-View Gardens, where 40 people were rescued.

Kovach is a lifelong McKeesporter who grew up in the Christy Park neighborhood.

After Kovach was sworn in by Spurgeon, he said he hopes to grow the McKeesport Fire Department under his leadership.

“There’s a lot of interesting things happening, and soon, within a matter of years, hopefully the demographic and the fire department change starts to look like our city, and we create our own firemen,” Kovach said.