Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall | Winter 2013 | icmags.com 29
ews
vehicles to pristine condition, Sandy intends to continue pursuing
this passion after his political life subsides. “I’m on the Franklin
Car Museum Board of Directors, as well as the board of our local
club, so I’ll be spending time there,” said Sandy, which allow future
generations the enjoyment of visiting the restored Franklins. He has
a sophisticated collection of Franklin’s that he is extremely proud to
own. He will be able to enjoy the leisure rides with his family with
the newly acquired time on his hands.
“My wife and I, we’re family oriented, and you get to a point
where you have grandkids running around and things like that, you
want to be a part of,” said Sandy. After 16 years as mayor, it flew
by, but I still look back and say, ‘Wow.’” Sandy believes deeply that
giving is its own reward, hearing him talk about walking away from
it all couldn’t be more credible evidence of that. “I can walk away
saying we have a good mayor coming in, a good council and a good
manager. It was well worth it,” said Sandy. Pausing to choke back
tears of joyful memories, Sandy said, while this door is closing on
this chapter of his life, a new one is opening ahead of him.
B AL DWI N BOR OU GH N
always told me if you want to change anything, get involved. So
after four years of taking a break from the police force, my wife
and mother talked me into running for mayor.” Knowing a lot of
residents personally through his police work, Bennett was elected in
what might have been a tough election if it wasn’t for the teamwork
of all the candidates running at the time. “I got into office with a nice
bunch of people. It was teamwork, and I had to continue to be a team
player through my whole career as mayor,” Bennett said.
Once in office, Bennett was successful in orchestrating
the changes for which he’s become known. Some of those
include getting the police department accredited by the State
of Pennsylvania, moving council chambers out of the police
department to its current location, and securing the police
department for safety. Relying on the support and cooperation of
his fellow elected officials and other community members, Bennett
has been dedicated to improving the quality of life in Baldwin. He
was instrumental in salvaging and moving a historic log cabin built
to the municipal complex. Working with members of the Baldwin
Historical Society, Bennett worked countless hours relocating the
1823 structure, board by board, a process which took close to a year
to complete. Since that time, Bennett continued to work with the
Historical Society to restore the cabin to its original condition, where
it’s now open to the public and part of the fabric of the Baldwin
community. “The log cabin restoration is truly remarkable. To think
this piece of Baldwin history was so close to being demolished and
forgotten, and now is an asset to our community. It is a great story
and an even greater accomplishment for Baldwin……none of which
would have been possible without the leadership of Mayor Bennett”
said Borough Manager, John Barrett.
Having excavation skills and first-hand knowledge of the
Borough also proved successful when Mayor Bennett was presented
with the reality of a landslide on Cathell Road. The damage to
Cathell was so significant that Borough leaders were initially
presented with two options – pay a few hundred thousand dollars to
stabilize the slide, or lose the road forever. Working in conjunction
with the Borough Public Works Department, he was able to find an
alternative solution that was completed at a fraction of the original
estimate from the Borough Engineers. Using his own excavating
experience, Bennett worked to help formulate a plan and directed
Borough laborers through the work. Today, Cathell Road continues
to provide a connection to Glass Run Road, a convenience many
residents may take for granted. Bennett also personally excavated
and dredged creek beds in the borough that had flooded and caused
massive amounts of damage. He regularly visits veterans, hands out
Eagle Scout awards and performs weddings. In addition, he collects
for the local food pantry, assists others in organizing the Halloween
parade and reads to school children in costume. Outside of the
borough, he serves as president of the Allegheny County Mayors
Association.
With the extra spare time from not having to work two jobs, he
has dedicated many years restoring antique cars, namely a unique
line of cars called ‘Franklins’. Having restored six original Franklin
Baldwin
I can walk away saying
we have a good mayor
coming in, a good council
and a good manager. It
was well worth it.