After seven-plus years as an East Hempfield Township supervisor — a tenure marked by its share of controversy — Heidi Wheaton has decided not to seek re-election.

Better known to many county residents for her well-financed and much-publicized, but ultimately unsuccessful, campaigns for state Senate and county commissioner, Wheaton said she's proud of her work on the board of supervisors but is ready to step down.

However, she didn't rule out another run for political office at some point.

Wheaton, a conservative Republican, was elected a supervisor in November 2001 to fill a two-year term and re-elected to a full six-year term two years later. Her current term expires in January 2010.

A small business owner trained as an engineer, Wheaton said she started out with no political ambitions but decided to seek public office "so government would be more customer-friendly."

She said the board of supervisors used to be aloof to citizen concerns, "but now it's much more responsive."

"I can say I enjoyed being a supervisor," Wheaton said.

Diane Moore, a Hempfield GOP committeewoman and former chairwoman of the Hempfield Area Republican Committee, said she didn't have a strong reaction to Wheaton's decision.

But she added, "It's no secret" she and many other GOP committee people thought Wheaton's tenure "caused more problems than positives" in the township.

Now it's time to move on, Moore said, and "I wish her well."

Last month, the Hempfield GOP endorsed a candidate — Landisville resident Scott Russell — for Wheaton's seat, she said. Wheaton didn't seek the endorsement, Moore said.

Rohrerstown resident Lisa Shaw counts herself as a firm Wheaton supporter.

"I'm very sad" she's not running again, and her departure's going to create a void that's hard to fill, Shaw said.

Wheaton was "an unequivocal advocate for the taxpayers" on budget and quality-of-life issues, she said.

Shaw also took exception to how Wheaton has been portrayed. "She's been demonized by her enemies very unfairly," Shaw said, and had her character attacked "quite cruelly."

And while Shaw and others will miss her service as a supervisor "very, very much," if anyone deserves a rest, it's Wheaton, Shaw said.

Pushing for change
Wheaton said she was asked to run again, and it was a "difficult decision" choosing not to.

But she said she feels she's left her mark on the board, and it's time to go back to private life.

She and her husband, Paul, operate a propane business, and she's recently developed an interest in rescue horses. Wheaton also is the mother of a 10-year-old son, William.

Over the years, Wheaton has often been at odds with her fellow supervisors — sometimes being the only dissenting vote on the five-member board — and has called for reform within township government.

But she believes her leadership has made a difference in several areas.

Wheaton pushed to have the supervisors vote down a proposed traditional neighborhood development ordinance, which they did unanimously in January 2007.

"I was personally opposed," Wheaton said of the ordinance, which she said was drawn up by developers. And she soon found out quite a few township residents felt the same way.

"It's important to listen to what people want or don't want," Wheaton said.

She said she also led the effort to get re-inspections done for residents of the Village Grande at Millers Run development, where some homeowners had complained about construction flaws.

"We overhauled the [township's] building code" and brought in new inspectors, she said. "I'm proud of that."

Village Grande resident Gary Stauffer supported Wheaton's campaign for county commissioner, and said she stood out because of her response to the situation.

"When she started [looking into it], the other supervisors were indifferent at best," he said.

The problems still aren't resolved, Stauffer said, "but if it wouldn't have been for her, nothing would've happened.

"She tries to do the right thing."

He said he appreciates her willingness to be a maverick, and go against the "good old boy" network.

Wheaton said she also brought township financial issues to light during her tenure, including problems with audits. Now audits are performed by certified public accountants, and there's greater oversight, she said.

She also has long complained about the township's ownership of Four Seasons Golf Course, which she says is a drain on taxpayers.

More recently, Wheaton said, she led the push to oppose rezoning to allow the Cheswicke Towne Centre project at Route 30, Marietta Avenue and Running Pump Road. Citing traffic concerns, the supervisors voted down the rezoning request in October 2008.

And just last week, the board agreed to prepare an ordinance that would ban heliports in East Hempfield Township, a prohibition Wheaton strongly supports.

Wheaton said she's also proud to have voted against the only tax increase proposed while she's served on the board.

She had no problem taking unpopular stands, Wheaton said, and she found people often changed their minds about an issue when they learned more about it.

"I do my research," she said. "I feel it was easy to stand up for what I believe in."

Challenging the GOP
But it was her runs for higher office that garnered Wheaton the most attention.

She unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for the 36th state Senate seat in 2006, losing to Mike Brubaker, and failed in her efforts to be elected county commissioner in 2007.

In both cases, Wheaton competed without the Republican Party's endorsement, but she pursued aggressive campaigns that stressed her social conservatism and position as an outsider.

During her commissioner run, Wheaton raised the hackles of Republicans when she said the party's candidate screening and endorsement process was reminiscent of the Soviet Politburo.

In recent years, she also served as an elected member of the Lancaster County Government Study Commission that examined the possibility of home rule. Wheaton supported the idea, which failed in a referendum in November.

In 2007, Robert Still, a former head of the Hempfield School Board, chaired a GOP group that opposed Wheaton's campaign for county commissioner.

"It's news to me," he said Friday when told Wheaton wasn't running for re-election as supervisor.

"Obviously, she's seeking a different direction," Still said. "I wish her luck."

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Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com.