Scott Church has announced his run for Lebanon city mayor.
Church, a prolific Lebanon-based photographer, shared the news in an interview with radio host Laura LeBeau during her Thursday morning “Talk of the Town” show.
Church will challenge incumbent Sherry Capello for the Republican nomination in the May 20 primary election.
He said he made the announcement this week because he didn’t want to run against her and had heard rumblings that Capello would not seek re-election. Church said he wanted to be in position to run if Capello decided not to run. Church said he hadn’t yet spoken to Capello about the race.
Capello told LebTown in an email Friday that she is running for another term and expects to make a formal announcement later this month.
Capello was elected to a fourth consecutive four-year term in the 2021 general election (1,665 votes), beating Democrat Cesar Liriano (1,153 votes).
“If she is running, I’m running now, so we’ll see how it goes,” said Church.
Church sees the decision to run as a culmination of sorts, and one he says he’s been thinking about for quite some time.
“I think that my history with the city kind of stands on its own,” said Church. “I’ve been a real advocate for (the city) for years, and what I feel like the city needs the most is it needs someone to stand up for it.”
The initial response he’s received has been “absolutely positive,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’ve heard from some very wonderful people who are absolutely supportive of the idea.”
Church said he doesn’t think Capello is doing a bad job, and that he hopes she would help with a transition, and would plan to retain a lot of the same city staffers.
“I just think that the city needs to be celebrated more,” he said. “I think there are so many things that we could be doing more of. I’m not really sure what everyone’s waiting for.”
Church said he thinks Lebanon city is already great, it just needs more of a push.
“Right now it feels like everyone’s saving up for a rainy day and I think it’s time to be putting our best foot forward,” he said.
Church positioned himself as a long-time “across the aisle” Republican – a First Amendment Republican who believes in “the idea of capitalism and the things that make our country great,” while also recognizing “a lot of really great social programs that I don’t want to disrupt.”
Church said he remembers a more active downtown, and that in addition to his broad goal of being a champion of the city, he sees potential policy planks such as simplifying things for the people that live in and visit Lebanon. He mentioned parking as a specific example and said there’s more than ample parking available if restrictions are eased.
“I’m not that old, but I’m old enough to remember shopping downtown and being downtown,” he said. “There was always room.”
Another factor for Church is attracting the right kind of businesses to draw people downtown.
“That’s not just small businesses,” he said. “I intend to work with larger businesses, too; I intended to work with franchises; I intend to work with corporations.”
Chruch said he wants to bring things that people are used to seeing in other cities, such as “restaurants that people recognize.” He emphasized the goal isn’t to compete with downtown businesses, but noted many of them have closed in the last 10 years.
A Lebanon County native and 1989 graduate of Cedar Crest High School, Church said at first growing up he did everything he possibly could do to get out of the county – and was successful at doing so with camera in tow.
According to his biography, he began his career as a U.S. Navy photographer serving in Operation Desert Storm aboard the USS Tarawa, and it flourished from there.
Church’s work has graced the pages of numerous magazines and commercial projects, including certain titles you might have found wrapped in brown paper at the old Cedar Book & Card (next door to the building where Church would later establish his Lebanon studio). Today, Church’s boudoir photography can be found online, through channels such as his 7,100-follower strong Facebook page and 13,700-follower Instagram account.
Church said he moved back to Lebanon after his experiences away helped him realize “how good it is here,” and that he’s spent the last 30 years building his business in Lebanon.
“I built my life, raised my child here,” said Church.
His social media audience should be an asset in the campaign, Church said, but he thinks more important is that it’s a benefit for the city in the long run rather than an advantage for just one election.
Although he expects to end up raising funds for his mayoral bid, Church said he wants it to be a race of ideas rather than advertising dollars.
Right now, Church said he’s looking to talk to anyone who wants to be a part of the campaign as he starts sharing his message with the public. He said he wants the public to know that he’s going to try his best to be a good representative and a good executive – “to be the best possible mayor I can be for my city.”
The whole thing, to Church, has the air of inevitability, and perhaps a touch of self-awareness.
“I’m going to win – I’m going to be the mayor – it’s going to happen, he said confidently because he knew there was really no other way for this to end up,” said Church speaking in the third-person.
“I’m going to win because I feel like it’s exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”
Chris Coyle contributed reporting to this article.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
