With less than a week until the Nov. 8 municipal elections, six candidates running for State College Borough Council maintain contrasting views on some of the borough's most contested issues.

The candidates -- three Republicans and three Democrats who cover a range of ages and occupations -- shared their views with The Daily Collegian on business growth, borough spending and taxes.

Most, however, gave priority to increasing the borough's permanent residents to bolster its tax base. Although none of the candidates is a student, most said they would work on improving student-borough relations.

Only three of the six will win a four-year term on the seven-member, volunteer council. Finishing off the last year of their terms are council members Jim Meyer, a Republican, Richard McCarl, a Republican filling in for former council member Janet Knauer, and Elizabeth Goreham, a Democrat, who is seeking re-election.

Ron Filippelli

Democrat

Filippelli, 67, retired in December as associate dean of the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts. He served as a professor of labor studies and industrial relations at the university for 38 years and headed the department for 11 years.

"Now that I am retired and have the time, I believe I could make a contribution to making the borough a better place to live," he said.

Filippelli said he thinks the biggest issue facing State College is increasing the number of owner-occupied homes to strengthen the borough's tax base.

"The borough's ability to do other things depends on keeping the number of permanent residents," he said, adding that he discourages raising homeowner taxes.

Maintaining the diversity and attractiveness of downtown is another priority, which can be achieved through a strong arts district, Filippelli said. He said he supports council's initiatives with the Fraser Street cineplex and revamping the State Theatre, 128 W. College Ave.

Regarding students, Filippelli said he thinks they've been left out of past borough decision making.

"I think pretty largely, the student voice is missing," he said. "We have to find ways to bring students into more direct roles with borough processes."

He said he'd try to increase student membership on council boards and committees and student internships in borough offices.

Filippelli has lived in the borough for 40 years and has three children.

"I think it's time to give something back," he said.

Filippelli was raised in Harrisburg and holds three Penn State degrees.

Charles Gable

Republican

Gable, 35, is a College Republicans adviser, State College-area chairman of the Centre County Republican Committee and former small-business owner. He graduated from Penn State in 1993 with a meteorology degree. Gable worked at AccuWeather and The Weather Channel before his current position in maintenance at Penn State.

Gable said he is running because he feels young professionals are underrepresented in the borough.

"We have a large demographic of retirees, and we have a large demographic of students," he said. "We don't have a lot of in-between."

He said he could give council a fresh voice.

"Generally, the people on council have either been on council for a while now or tend to be older," he said.

Increasing the number of high-paying jobs in State College should be a priority, Gable said.

"There's not a reason for a student to stay here and be a productive part of our town," he said. "I don't think we encourage businesses to come into the borough and provide a job that pays well."

Gable said he supports the business privilege tax repeal and council's initiative for a commercial incentive zoning district, designed to attract new businesses and permanent residents downtown. He also said the borough should keep a watchful eye on its "shrinking" tax base.

Strengthening Alpha Fire Company by hiring a full-time fire chief and training coordinator is another goal, Gable said.

Gable, a seven-year borough resident, grew up in Harleysville.

Richard Garis

Republican

Garis, 56, is making his third run for council. He retired from the State College Police Department after 28 years and now runs a small landscaping business.

"I'm in it for the long haul, so I'm really concerned about what's going on and what needs to be done," he said.

Garis said he'd continue on council's path for revitalizing the downtown. He said he advocated repealing the business privilege tax during his campaign two years ago and still supports the repeal.

"State College had their business heyday in the '60s," Garis said. "A lot of those businesses have moved out in the townships, so what we have to do is create special things downtown."

He said those things include the proposed Fraser Street cineplex, the new Beaver Avenue parking garage and the new Schlow Library, 211 S. Allen St.

"That's the kind of things I'd continue with," he said.

Garis also said past councils have given students a "cold shoulder."

"I would actually listen to [students] with an open mind and not have a preconceived notion about young people and the problems they create," he said.

Garis has been a State College resident since 1972, has six children and has taken courses at various institutions, including Penn State.

Elizabeth Goreham

Democrat

Goreham, 63, has served two council terms and manages real estate in State College and Ferguson Township.

"I really enjoy being involved in my town, and I've got some experience with it," she said.

Goreham said she's played a successful part in getting the new Schlow Library built downtown. She said she also encouraged more people to participate in borough affairs and passed a proposal for borough employees to recycle at least 20 percent of their paper products.

Goreham said her next term would involve creating an ombudsman for permanent residents to "help people that live here with the issues they confront."

She said she'd like to create an independent rental mediation board to aid student apartment renters as well.

"This is the place where people rent property for the first time in their lives," she said. "They might not be aware fully of their rights and obligations."

Goreham also mentioned strengthening programs for owner-occupied homes, bike and pedestrian ways, emergency preparedness and environmental initiatives.

"Students and faculty could make State College a leader in green design and landscaping to absorb floodwater," she said.

Born in Chicago, Goreham grew up in northern Indiana and has lived in State College since 1993. She has a political science degree from George Washington University.

Don Hahn

Democrat

Hahn, 41, a lawyer in State College and Bellefonte, is a member of the borough planning commission and a past council member.

His goals include conserving a tax base and creating a citizen-run finance commission to make recommendations to council on cost-saving measures, he said.

Hahn said council's recent action of repealing the business privilege tax and imposing the emergency municipal service tax has increased homeowners' costs.

"Now, I do encourage businesses, but I think the borough should remain loyal to those who remain loyal to it -- basically our hard-working families and other residents," he said.

Hahn said he feels that council members have set agendas.

"Oftentimes, it seems like the attitude is if they have four votes, let's schedule a vote quickly before someone changes their mind," he said.

Creating greater regional cooperation and cost sharing for police protection is another priority, he said.

Otherwise, Hahn said the borough is well run, and he would continue with efforts for clean and safe streets.

Hahn has lived in State College all his life and is a 1987 Penn State graduate in political science. He also graduated from Villanova in 1992 with a law degree. He has two stepchildren who live in the borough.

Pamela Trout

Republican

Trout, 28, a 2000 Penn State graduate in computer science, works as a software engineer.

She said she's against several council-supported projects: the proposed Fraser Street cineplex because its condos will be for permanent residents only; the Beaver Avenue cameras because they create a violation of privacy; and the business privilege tax repeal because it will increase homeowners' expenses.

"Our taxes keep going up because they keep spending money for buildings downtown," she said, referring to the new Schlow Library and the revamping of the State Theatre. "We're losing all that tax base for all those public buildings they're putting downtown."

Trout said borough zoning, which limits the height of businesses and requires certain environmental codes, discourages businesses from locating downtown.

Trout also criticized several borough ordinances, including one that requires student housing to be three property widths away from another student housing property and another that accumulates points against students for violations, such as littering.

"It's flat-out discrimination," she said.

Trout said she would take a libertarian approach to council issues.

"You can do pretty much whatever you want as long as it's not hurting somebody," she said, adding that the borough should be frugal with its spending.

Trout, a mother of two, has been a State College resident since 1996. She grew up in Liverpool, Pa.