Hayden Phillips to Run for County Council

A Lower Nazareth Township resident has announced his candidacy for Northampton County Council.

Hayden Phillips, who is running as a Republican, is seeking one of five “at large” council seats in the 2013 election, according to a press release.

This is Phillips' first run for elected office. He was, however, interviewed for a Nazareth Area School Board seat after the sudden death of longtime board member Thomas Maher in late November 2011.

During Phillips' school board interview, he identified as a Tea Party member.

Robert Pinel, also of Lower Nazareth, was selected to fill Maher's seat after the board's first choice, Michael Woodland, backed out.

In his announcement, Phillips says "his training and experience will be a real asset in influencing the county’s budget process and monitoring its overall fiscal responsibility."

During his professional career, the press release adds, Phillips "has mastered group facilitation, group dynamics and consensus building." These are skills he feels are important to council members as they work together as a team.

Phillips' Background:

• Phillips holds an undergraduate degree from Mansfield State University and a master's in Business Administration from Lehigh University.

• He has spent his career in the information technology industry. For the last 20 years, his focus has been project and program management. He has expertise in managing large, global projects and organizations.

• Phillips is an adjunct instructor at Penn State University - Lehigh Valley, teaching courses in Project Management.

• Phillips is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon discharge from active duty, he continued his service and established a career in the Marine Corps Reserve, serving in both key staff and command positions, including battalion commander. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of colonel.

Phillips and his wife, Zulma, have been married for 30 years and are the parents of two adult children.