Five candidates are competing for four seats on the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners in the Nov. 3 general election.

Incumbents Phillips Armstrong, Philip Ginder and Dennis Hower are cross-filed on the ballot.

Incumbent Clair D. Hunsberger is a Democrat.

Jeffrey Dutt is a Republican.

The Press asked each of the candidates the following question: What will be your first order of business if elected to office?

Phillips Armstrong

“My first order of business will be to assure our elected officials have the goal of building a strong sense of community within our township. No matter what area of Whitehall you live in, our team will provide a consistent and responsible government that represents your needs in an ethical manner.

“I commit to working to grow many of the community building projects I have initiated. Educational opportunities, such as Student Government Day, community-building efforts, such as Stroll Along the Trail, and the reopening of (Hokendauqua’s) Parkview Pool are a few ways I look forward to serving.”

Philip Ginder

“(My first order of business will be to) continue on with serving the residents of Whitehall. The 2016 budget is under review and needs to be completed and adopted. The township is in excellent financial condition. This does not mean we have money to burn! We must prudently allocate necessary funds for our police and fire departments.

“(We must) continue with our road and infrastructure improvements. We must supply the necessary funds to keep our parks, pools, playgrounds, rail-trail and other recreational needs in good condition.

“Also, (we need to) make sure township employees have the equipment and tools they need to get their jobs done.

“Together into the future we go.”

Dennis Hower

“My first order of business will be to increase the involvement of our residents in the business of the township. We are in desperate need of volunteers to serve on our many boards and committees.

“In addition, I would like to see our commissioners meetings recorded and put on the Internet, so our residents can see what is going on in our township. I believe that making our residents aware of Whitehall’s challenges and successes will create a more active and knowledgeable community.”

Jeffrey Dutt

“I have had the pleasure of meeting many residents of Whitehall in the past several months.

“There are various challenges that face our township. The first one I will address as a commissioner is taxes. We need to increase our business tax base to compete in the Lehigh Valley and to keep taxes low for homeowners.

“In order to do to this, we need to create a business summit and partner with the Whitehall (Area) Chamber of Commerce. This allows us to discuss how we can lower taxes to attract new businesses and keep our current business owners in the township.”

At press time, Clair D. Hunsberger had not submitted a response.