Westmoreland County Commissioner P. Scott Conner was elected in 1999. He served as Secretary of the Board of Commissioners and of the Board of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for four years. He also served on the Westmoreland County Salary Board, Westmoreland County Retirement Board and the Westmoreland County Prison Board. During his tenure in office Scott delivered on his promise of an efficient, fiscally conservative and restrained agenda for county government. Conner decided last year not to run for a second term as Commissioner so that he could focus his attention on the needs of the people of the 57th district.
He consistently fought for a balanced County budget and refused to concede to the attitude that nothing could be done. He proposed his own budget in an effort to stem the flow of red ink. These budgets contained new solutions to problems instead of repeating the same old mistakes of the past – sadly his colleagues refused to act and ignored Conner’s efforts resulting in a depleted County surplus and a deficit of over 10 million dollars.
Scott has brought his ideas of better government through the implementation of private sector processes to many of the County’s diverse departments. Scott led the effort to diversify the county’s $200 million pension fund, saving the taxpayers' hundreds of thousands of dollars and protecting the assets of the Westmoreland County Pension Fund.
He championed the idea of Free College tuition at the Westmoreland County Community College for new volunteer firefighters which provides an opportunity to help with the manpower shortage that all VFD’s face. Scott was also a key advocate for the federal grant of 6 million dollars that will pay for new radio equipment for our first responders.
Scott advocated privatizing the county prison in order to save money and improve operations. He also moved to relax residency requirements to allow nurses from outside Westmoreland County to work at the Manor in an effort to make up chronic staffing shortages. Scott was a vital part of the successful Employee Retirement Incentive Program that saved the County over $350,000 in payroll and benefits annually. Scott has also spoken out on creation of a Citizens Advisory Board to recommend appoints to authority boards.
As a member of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, he was involved in transportation planning for ten counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. Scott was also a member of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania’s Governance committee that sets the legislative policy agenda priorities.
Scott was a member of the Conservation Districts’ Board of Directors and has been a driving force behind preserving the natural beauty of Westmoreland County. He was selected as the Elected Official of the Year in 2003 by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD).
Before entering into the world of politics Conner served four years in the United States Marine Corps. During his enlistment, he had tours of duty in Asia, the Pacific and with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron, HMX-1, under President Ronald Reagan.
After an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps, Conner was an Executive Account Representative for GTE in their Directories Corporation. He left GTE to start an electrical contracting company. Four years later, after selling his interest in the company to the senior partner, Conner started his own graphic design company. Conner Art & Design specializes in package labeling within the safety seal industry, business identities and advertising. While working in graphic design, marketing and advertising fields, his interest in politics and the political process drove Conner to pursue a degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
Scott is forty-two years old and a native of Columbus, Ohio and is married to Dr. Trina Pagano. Conner is a father of four children: Christopher 22, Christina 20, Samuel 9, and Karina Anne who is five years old. They live in Hempfield Township.
