Running for public office may be old hat for him, but State College Borough Council member Jerry Wettstone is still going strong.

Wettstone has served on the council for four and a half years and is confident that his advocacy for residential neighborhood preservation will win him four more.

"A good, forward-looking planning program is very important to prevent problems ahead of time," said Wettstone, who has served as a liaison to the borough planning commission for several years.

Council President R. Thomas Berner said Wettstone "does his homework" and brings positive input to the council's discussions and decisions of the council.

"I find Jerry a very easy person to work with," Berner said, adding that Wettstone is informed about the issues.

The occupancy limit is part of a borough ordinance which has provoked much controversy among community members. The ordinance prohibits more than three unrelated people from sharing a single-family house or duplex in a residential neighborhood.

The fair housing ordinance is another controversial issue that has sparked debates between members of residential neighborhoods and University students. This ordinance prohibits discrimination based on factors such as race, religion, marital status and sexual orientation.

"I think it was an overkill," said Wettstone, one of two council members who voted against the ordinance.

Based on the results of a borough-contracted study of discrimination in the area, Wettstone said he doesn't think the ordinance is needed. The report found that there were virtually no cases of discrimination reported to the borough as of last August, he said.

In support of student renters, Wettstone said he would look at legislation that would allow them to withhold rent from their landlords if they are dissatisfied with their residences.

"The challenge would be to strike a balance between the rights of the landlord and the rights of the tenant," he said.

Students and borough residents could work to mediate their disputes by forming student neighborhood associations, which would parallel existing neighborhood associations, Wettstone said. He added that these groups would function as a voice between the campus and town communities.

Another cooperative arrangement favored by Wettstone is the consolidation of the borough and several neighboring townships in the Centre Region.

"We really are, in the minds of many people, very much one homogeneous region," Wettstone said. "We have an excellent voluntary cooperation arrangement now, and I'd like to see it go the next step."