Shober bids farewell to Washington County commissioners’ office
Harlan Shober鈥檚 resume is quite varied:
A veteran of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, he spent 32 years working for telecommunications giant AT&T; he has been a home builder, and he鈥檚 had a real estate license.
Interspersed with these careers, he鈥檚 served as a member of Chartiers-Houston School Board, an unpaid position, and Chartiers Township supervisor, which carries a stipend of about $2,500 per year. He鈥檚 been part of the pastoral nominating committee at his church, First United Presbyterian of Houston.
And for the past eight years, he鈥檚 been a Washington County commissioner, which last year carried a salary of $93,944.
The annual median household income in Washington County is $59,309, according to the Data USA website.
鈥淪o much of what we do here is done by committee,鈥� Shober said. 鈥淲e have three commissioners so you don鈥檛 talk too much about what you do personally,鈥� he said as December drew to a close. He had already packed up his personal belongings, and the boxes stacked in the office were those of fellow Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi, who was the second-highest votegetter for the first time in his five commission races, bested by Republican Diana Irey Vaughan.
Shober, 75, finished fourth in the balloting, losing out to Republican Nick Sherman, 40, of North Strabane Township, who made the cut by placing third.
Nov. 5 was a history-making night in Washington County politics. Except for a four-year period in the 1990s, Democrats have dominated the commissioners鈥� office since the New Deal era of the 1930s, named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt鈥檚 programs to wrest the United States from the Great Depression.
As he looked back on his eight years, Shober reflected on his work to alleviate flooding in the Chartiers Creek Valley, beginning a process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
He also spoke of achieving a booking center, a phrase that might not mean much to the general public.
But it鈥檚 something police departments had been advocating literally for decades, and Shober spearheaded the effort to get local police back on streets patrolling their communities and answering citizens鈥� calls rather than driving hither and yon to have a prisoner arraigned.
鈥淲e need our law enforcement throughout Washington County,鈥� he said. 鈥淧art of keeping our people safe is having police officers on the street. I鈥檓 not one who goes out and talks a lot about what we do.鈥�
Leave it to Shober to find a silver lining in losing an election.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to be positive,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y vote count went up. I had 1,000 more votes than I had the last time. It鈥檚 a personal triumph for me.鈥�
Shober won in 2015 by 35 votes over Republican Mike McCormick, but this time around, he lost by 2,300 votes to Sherman. He saw it coming early on election night. In communities Shober was carrying, he didn鈥檛 do so by large enough margins.
Had he won, his third term would have been his last. 鈥淚鈥檇 have been almost 80. Maybe people thought I was too old. Experience comes with your age,鈥� said the father of four and the grandfather of an even dozen.
Both Commissioners Maggi and Irey Vaughan, at the final voting meeting of 2019, thanked him for his service to the county.
Sherman is scheduled to be take his oath of office this morning in the second of two ceremonies for various elected officials at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1.
Michel Legrand, who died a year ago this month, composed a song titled, 鈥淲hat are you doing the rest of your life?鈥�
Posing that question to Shober resulted in this reply: 鈥淵ou go from busy to 鈥榃hat do I do next?鈥� I鈥檓 giving it a lot of thought. I鈥檓 not looking for a career. I鈥檓 looking for something I enjoy doing where I can still help people.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be busy the rest of my life. 鈥� I鈥檓 always thinking about the future.鈥�