McNear Hopes to Eliminate Duplication, Work as Team Member

The following is the fourth in our eight-part series of council candidate profiles for the Nov. 8 election. Each day, Tri-Boro Patch will bring you a new profile so that you know who you can vote for and what issues they are most concerned with. On election day, we will bring all of the profiles together for you in one article so you can make an informed decision.

In Butler, two Republican councilmen are running unopposed. This is a profile story of one of them.

Sean McNear admires leadership, but credits the community for making the borough what it is.

"It's not the politicians that make it as great as it is the people," McNear said.

McNear is running for his first term on the Butler Council but is not a new face to the borough. He currently serves on the borough's Land Use Board and chair's the Butler Republican Club, as he has for the past three years.

He began getting involved with local government when he became curious about how the Land Use Board functions and how projects get approved in the borough. In his career, McNear works as a manager in regulatory affairs.

"It gave me an opportunity to see how things work," he said. "I really respect people who volunteer their time."

Some of his priorities on the council will include looking into cutting costs to save taxpayers money and examining the borough's shared services agreements.

"Shared services are the only way we can really make it going forward," he said. "Every single town has duplications, things that can be merged."

He and his family, wife Karrie, daughter, Madeline, 11, and son Jack, 7, have lived in Butler for the past 13 years.

McNear said he hopes to become an integral part of the Butler Council.

"[I want to] continue to understand how I can work with the rest of the team," he said.

He added that he has a great deal of respect for the current councilmembers.

"They are a great group of people who are motivated to do the right thing," he said.

What McNear loves most about Butler are its hidden treasures, he said.

"There's a lot to do in Butler. It's a great town that has a lot of hidden gems," he said.