Two men fighting for control of Turtle Creek council aren't even candidates in the May 17 Democratic primary.

"I've been in politics 47 years, and this is one of the bitterest campaigns I've been in," said Jim Currie, president of council.

"I call it the good faction and the bad faction," said his rival, Jim Davis, the mayor.

Currie's seat doesn't expire until next year, however, and Davis is not running for re-election. Currie's side now enjoys a 6-3 majority, but the political calculus will change dramatically in 2006.

Council will be smaller because the Davis coalition successfully petitioned Common Pleas Court to reduce council to seven positions, from nine.

Technically, Currie could maintain a majority if one of his two council candidates wins. But ally Sally Grubbs, whose council seat is not open this year, has been incapacitated by illness.

That will leave six council members next year, and, in case of a tie, the mayor casts the deciding vote.

So both factions need to win at least two of the races for mayor, councilman at-large and 3rd Ward councilman.

Currie's slate includes Adam Forgie for mayor, Ted Czekaj for councilman at-large and incumbent Bob Mullooly for 3rd Ward council.

Davis' slate includes Brian Estocin for mayor, Drew Monardo for councilman at-large and Kathryn Marchitello for 3rd Ward council.

The major issues are the impending construction of the Mon-Fayette Expressway and the future site of East Junior High School.

The elevated highway will destroy dozens of houses and take out part of Penn Plaza, the town's commercial district. The Woodland Hills School District has all but decided either to rebuild or renovate the school.

Both issues are closely related to a stark reality of governance in Turtle Creek. The borough runs on a tight budget based on a small tax base supported by a tax-adverse population.

Mayor

The mayoral race is perhaps the least contentious contest. Brian Estocin and Adam Forgie essentially agree that the landlord-tenant law should be enforced more vigorously, aesthetics or beautification should be emphasized when the expressway is built and more money should be put into youth programs.

Estocin, who now represents the 1st Ward, would like the junior high school to be built elsewhere so expressway builders can relocate Penn Plaza to the school site. He has applied for a $75,000 federal grant for a code enforcement officer. As Rotary Club president, he got a new town clock, started a summer youth program and raised $15,000 for victims of the Hurricane Ivan flooding.

Forgie said he wants to get grants for police equipment and training and to act as a unifying force on council. He said his work as a social studies teacher and as a volunteer firefighter has given him insights into how government works.

Both have kind words for the other.

"Adam is a fantastic person," Estocin said. "Whether it's him or me, Turtle Creek will get a young mayor with fresh ideas."

"Brian's a great guy," Forgie said. "Win or lose, we'll be getting a great mayor."

At-large council

The court created the at-large council seat when it did away with three ward positions.

Czekaj, who represents the 2nd Ward, is a bit reticent for a politician. His idea of touting his record is to say, "I think I've done a pretty good job."

His goals are to keep the borough "above water financially," keep the infrastructure working and hold the line on emergency services. He works closely with the public works department and has been known to spend as much time as town crews at sewer line breaks. He said his ideas on conservation have reduced the town's electric bills by 20 percent.

He wants the expressway officials to enable adjacent parcels of land to be developed for the tax rolls.

Drew Monardo wants to concentrate on long-range strategies.

"No one is looking toward the future," he said. "Everyone is acting as if we still have Westinghouse and a good tax base and nothing is going wrong."

One of his ideas is to develop an area for new housing, perhaps at the old Westinghouse plant, to replace houses razed for the expressway.

He said he will continue to push for moving the junior high school out of Turtle Creek, so the land can be developed and taxed.

3rd Ward council

Both candidates in the 3rd Ward are short on new ideas but long on enthusiasm.

Incumbent Bob Mullooly said his late wife, Helen, persuaded him to run for council eight years ago.

"It gives an old retired person something to do, and I like doing it," he said. "Besides, "I'm a Creeker, and very proud of it."

Among his accomplishments are "serving on a whole lot of committees," negotiating a police contract and getting a hydraulic vehicle lift for the maintenance garage.

He bemoaned decisions to build the expressway through Turtle Creek and to keep the junior high school in town, but he said there isn't much that council can do about other government agencies.

"Every time something comes down the pike," he said, "we get the poopy end of the stick."

He said he has been cancer-free since a lung tumor was excised in 1982, and he has recovered from a kidney transplant last year.

"I'm in pretty good shape. ... I'm feeling real good."

Kathryn Marchitello said she doesn't know much about the issues yet.

She moved away from Turtle Creek for four years. When she returned five years ago to take care of her mother, the town seemed worse off. More garbage was on the streets and people seemed less content.

"It's the little towns that make America work," she said. "I want everybody to be more like, you know, the old 'Donna Reed Show,' more caring and more loving and more giving."

She said her outgoing personality and ability to get along will serve council well.

The men behind the candidates say that it is their coalition that best represents the town.

"They're not interested in Turtle Creek borough," Currie said of the other slate. "They're interested in personal glory."

"They don't like my ideas because I'm 100 percent change, and it's for the people," Davis said of Currie's bloc. "This election is a turning point for Turtle Creek."