Olive Brown-McKeithan gets motivated in Farrell

She is likely to be the city’s first black, female mayor.

By LAURE CIOFFI

VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU

FARRELL, Pa. — Olive Brown-McKeithan was always interested in politics, but she usually worked behind the scenes.

“I was always asking people, ‘Do you want to run for council?’” she said.

It was one of those fruitless queries that persuaded Brown-McKeithan to take her turn at politics — and now she’s likely to become the first black, first female mayor of Farrell.

The 65-year-old great-grandmother ran unopposed on the Democratic ticket in the spring election and has no opposition in the fall from the Republican Party.

She is a member of Farrell City Council serving her first four-year term.

“I never dreamed I’d be mayor,” she said. William Morocco, the current mayor of Farrell, did not seek re-election.

Even though she’s likely to be next, Brown-McKeithan is still cautious when speaking about the mayor’s office, contending she won’t declare victory until the fall election.

But one thing she is excited about is her adopted hometown of Farrell. She moved to Farrell in 1966 with her mother from nearby Sharon after her father died.

“We have a stigma, and people are afraid to come to this community. Farrell is a great place. They do not need to be afraid,” she said.

A city of about 6,000 people, Farrell was once a bustling steel mill town, but saw decline in the 1990s when the mills closed. Since then the city has been plagued with financial problems that put it in the state’s Act 47 program for financially distressed communities. Farrell has been in that program for about 20 years.

Brown-McKeithan, however, sees only the positive.

“Since being on council, I have been able to do some proactive things, and I think I can still do proactive things,” she said.

Being proactive and helping people has been a common theme in Brown-McKeithan’s life.

Getting involved

She left high school in the 11th grade to get married and start a family. She later got her GED.

And 30 years ago she started working for the Sharon Regional Health System in the linen department. She eventually moved up to a job in central supply, but was soon tapped to help the hospital with a minority health program.

Mickey Gulla, director of women’s services at Sharon Regional, said Brown-McKeithan was a natural fit for the program because she was heavily involved in Farrell’s church community.

The hospital wanted to do breast cancer screenings in the black community and Brown-McKeithan was able to help organize a group of ministers’ wives to help make it happen, Gulla said.

From there the program grew into the independent nonprofit Minority Health Center where Brown-McKeithan is now the executive director. The organization has gone beyond traditional health issues and has also created a community anti-drug coalition.

A people person

“She’s a connector,” Gulla said of Brown-McKeithan. “She doesn’t hesitate to ask anybody, anywhere for anything.”

Gulla also notes that Brown-McKeithan is good at including people.

“She has a skill of getting people to take some action,” Gulla added.

Brown-McKeithan’s pastor, the Rev. Wilbert Hadden of Greater Mount Zion Church of God in Christ in Farrell, agrees.

“If you want to get something done, you call Ollie,” he said.

He describes Brown-McKeithan as always forward-thinking and able to inspire others to move things along.

“I think she will grab every opportunity to build bridges among races, ages, groups, religions and denominations,” the Rev. Mr. Hadden said.

Ready to stir things up

Brown-McKeithan admits she enjoys working with people and coming up with new ideas.

“I love what I do. I get a high out of what I do. I just like to see things materialize,” she said.

She’s most proud of programs that help improve her community such as the one where a state grant helped pay to paint 39 homes in Farrell. The program is being continued through the city.

“If you clean up the town, then the drug dealers won’t want to be on the corner. We just need to clean up our act,” Brown-McKeithan said.

She also knows there are other difficulties in the community.

“We have a fractured community. One uptown and one downtown. I’m hoping it will be one,” she said.

And to do that everyone needs a voice in government, she said.

She promises to be a hands-on mayor determined to attract jobs to the area.

“Why can’t we have some businesses along the Broadway [Avenue] corridor. Farrell wants something too. I’m hoping we can stir something up,” she said.

cioffi@vindy.com