Tom DiBello, Montgomery County Commissioner, spoke with BUCKSCO Today about growing up in Hazleton, where he enjoyed playing youth sports and inherited an impressive work ethic from his parents.

DiBello worked as a software engineer and started several businesses before getting involved in local politics. He was first elected Limerick township supervisor, then followed it up with 12 years on the Spring-Ford school board.

DiBello discussed his goals as county commissioner, including tackling homelessness and crucial bridge projects. He also discussed whether he wishes he’d run for state representative years ago.

Where were you born and where did you grow up, Commissioner?

I was born and raised in Hazleton, Pa., and lived there until I moved to Montgomery County in 1993. My mom was a schoolteacher, and my dad was a police officer. Jokingly, I always used to say my mom either taught folks, or my dad arrested them, or maybe both.

What memories stay with you about growing up in Hazleton?

It was an immigrant city, so it was interesting to see all the different heritages within the city.

I lived in a neighborhood where I could ride my bike two blocks down the street. Kids came from all over. There was a corner with a baseball field where we would meet. I spent a lot of my childhood on that baseball field, playing baseball or football or hide and seek.

We also had playgrounds at the schools that were just a bike ride away. When we got a little older, we had our baseball team and we would play baseball teams from other neighborhoods.

Did you have any part-time jobs when you were growing up, Tom?

I worked at a Kmart for my last year of high school and all through college. I started as a stock boy, and I pretty much did everything you could think of. I worked in the lawn and garden center watering flowers, moving mulch and grass seed pallets around using a forklift, and also loading up customer vehicles.

In the spring and summer time, I would assemble gas grills, lawnmowers, and lawn furniture for the display floor. I would even help at the jewelry section during the holidays engraving jewelry, working the registers — and still stocking the shelves and working security. I never said no — whatever they needed, I said, “Yeah, I could do that.”

What lessons did you learn from that job that still influence how you work today?

I don’t say no! In my career, I was always willing to jump in, learn new things, or take the lead.

Where does your positive, can-do attitude come from, Tom?

Both my parents worked hard. It was impressed upon us when we were young. My dad worked two jobs. My mom worked, and she went to school later to get her teaching certificate and teach at the vocational school.

Where did you go to college?

I went to the Penn State Schuylkill Haven campus, where I earned an associate degree in computer science. I decided to get my bachelor’s degree at East Stroudsburg University where I earned my degree in Computer Science.

Later in my career, I went to Penn State Great Valley where I earned my master’s degree.

When did you get involved in politics?

I always say that you enter politics for one of two reasons. One is that you have this desire or drive that you want to be a politician. The other one is something’s going on in your community that you stand up to fight against.

The latter was the case for me. We have a nuclear power plant in Limerick, and a developer was going to build a natural gas power plant right next to it.

We formed a neighborhood grassroots group called Concerned Citizens for Limerick’s Future. We knew that to continue to have success with what we were doing, we needed to get people elected and so I ran for Limerick Township supervisor.

When I left that seat, I always had the desire to continue doing something in politics. In 2009, I ran for the Spring-Ford school board because I felt that more emphasis needed to be put on education and curriculum. While on the school board for 12 years together with my fellow bipartisan board members, we turned Spring-Ford into one of the top school districts in the state.

So why did you decide to run for County Commissioner?

When I came off the school board, I was thinking about how to continue serving my community. Different grassroots groups in the area were working hard to promote good, conservative, common-sense leadership and strongly encouraged me to run for county commissioner. With the support of these groups and my party representatives, I ran for and won one of the three seats on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.

Looking at the end of 2024 and into 2025, what are you focused on, Tom?

One of my big priorities in my first year in office, that we’ve been successful with, is being more engaged with the community at our meetings and being welcoming to our constituents when they come to a meeting and ask questions. My fellow commissioners agreed to extend the public comment period that allows people to participate in our board meetings and further engage in conversation. The community appreciates that we want to hear from them. That was a big success right out of the gates.

With my corporate background and experience running large global software systems projects for over 27 years and owning my own businesses, I’m focusing on budgeting, spending, and forecasting.

The County had a 34 percent cumulative tax increase over the last four years. We can’t continue down that path. I’m looking at what we could do to get us back to minimal or no tax increases.

I’m also working with stakeholders to address the homeless problem in Montgomery County. In my opinion, we lack a comprehensive and cohesive plan to address their needs. I’m thrilled to work very closely with Pottstown Mayor Stephanie Henrick. If we’re successful in Pottstown there, we could take the model and bring it across the entire county.

I want to continue to look at crime and figure out what we can do. We’re working with the district attorney, the sheriff’s department, and our local municipalities.

What do you do with all that free time that you have?

I still try to play some golf with my wife. But right now, the County is my hobby. This is what I enjoy.

What’s something big that you’ve changed your mind about over the last 10 years?

When I was a township supervisor, I was asked by the party to run for state representative in our area. I came home and I talked with my wife, and I really struggled with that decision. Was this the right opportunity for me at the time? Our kids were also young, and as a state representative, you have to run every two years. I decided to not run and stay on the corporate path.

I had a very successful career in corporate. I am thankful for it, but looking back, I wonder where I’d be today if I did run for state rep.

Finally, Tom, what’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

My mom gave me the best piece of advice: “Don’t ever quit. It’s okay to walk away at some point and change direction, but don’t quit.” I carried that all the way through my life.

I tried to instill that when my kids were younger. When they wanted to quit something, I’d say, “You can make that decision at the end of the season for next year. But you’re going to stay involved for this entire season.”