Laura Dininni Stepping Down from Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors

A Ferguson Township supervisor is resigning this summer after nearly eight years on the board.

Ward I Supervisor Laura Dininni will step down effective July 4. The rest of the board accepted her resignation during Tuesday night’s supervisors meeting.

Dininni first took office in 2016 and her second term was scheduled to conclude on Dec. 31. She was term-limited and not running for reelection.

Several factors went into her decision to resign before the end of her term, Dininni told StateCollege.com. She has made working on accessible and meaningful resident involvement in township decision-making a priority, she said, and now she feels she can best further that goal as a non-board member.

“The ease of that effort ebbed and flowed along with the astonishing amount of board and staff changes Ferguson has experienced since 2016 and at this juncture I feel I will be more effective in furthering those efforts as a non-board member resident,” she said.

Dininni hopes that transparency and access will be priorities for township government after her departure.

“During my tenure I spent a significant amount of time easing transitions and bridging gaps in institutional knowledge,” she said. “As township leadership moves forward without me, I hope that decision making transparency and resident access are held as priorities and the full board is always inclusive, and included in, all dialogues, strives to align township actions to resident priorities and not only acknowledges, but really embraces their authority to drive policy.”

She added that she also wants to see on the township agenda a “commitment to end the debate on who is or isn’t responsible, and insist on equal fire protection for equal taxation.”

Dininni cited her leadership in creating two standing committees among her proudest accomplishments as a supervisor.

The Parks and Recreation Committee, she noted, is comprised of seven residents who now advise the supervisors on millions of dollars of assets across 12 township parks.

The Pine Grove Mills Small Area Plan Advisory Committee is a group of five tasked with implementing what Dininni called “a fantastic blueprint for community development in Pine Grove Mills area.”

She also played a role in establishing a policy to interview all candidates for authorities, boards and commissions.

“This ensures that if there are new, or multiple candidates they will have an opportunity to be heard and considered for the seat,” Dininni said. “This is not how it had been previously, and many resident volunteers who applied were never even considered. I feel there is untold value in having a diverse representation of individuals advising the board and the first step in that is ensuring access to be heard and considered.”

Going forward, Dininni said she will not seek appointment to any township committees or boards, but plans to stay involved in community development.

The remainder of the board will appoint a replacement for Dininni within 45 days of her resignation. Assistant Township Manager Jaymes Progar said the application period will be advertised on the Ferguson Township website.

Her replacement will be the third appointed member of the five-member board. Ward 2 Supervisor Hilary Caldwell and At-Large Supervisor Tierra Williams both resigned in 2022 because they moved out of the township, less than a year after being elected to their first terms. The board appointed Jeremie Thompson and Corey Gracie-Griffin as their replacements.

The Ward 1, 2 and 3 and one at-large supervisor position are up for election this year, with the winners to be sworn in in January.