Richard Van Hall has formally announced his candidacy for Owego Town Council.

 Mr. Van Hall is an employee of Lockheed Martin in Owego and has worked for the company in the Southern Tier for 18 years. Throughout this time, Richard has become increasingly interested in quality of life issues. These concerns brought him to Owego, his chosen home, with Teresa, his wife of 14 years, and their three children. Mr. Van Hall's family attends St. Patrick's Church in Owego.

 Richard holds degrees from Michigan Technological University in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is currently a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Preserve Owego Downtown (POD). It was as a member that the candidate helped draft and present to the public a plan to keep county services downtown in their existing buildings, rehabilitate and refurbish them doing it at a much lower cost than even the original estimate. The original County Legislature's estimate has since increased significantly and many former backers of the original plan have since distanced themselves from it.

 Richard is also a member of the Village of Owego Sewer Committee and the Historic Preservation Committee.

 The candidate has stated a commitment to issues of both political fairness and government efficiency. Specifically, Mr. Van Hall would like to explore changes in the at-large system of electing town candidates and move toward a districted system, insuring fairer representation for all voters. Mr. Van Hall believes in open meetings and government. The candidate feels the sewer rates, fees charged for property tax information and the possible consolidation of some village and town services should be explored.

 Richard Van Hall is a registered Independent and has been endorsed by the Tioga County Democratic Committee.