Hometown: Moon Township
Birthday: Sept. 1
Bio: Amanda Gillooly is a 2002 Point Park University graduate and former reporter for The Valley Independent, The Beaver County Times and Observer-Reporter newspapers. She was also a freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, www.pa2010.com and The Innocence Institute of Point Park University.

Amanda has been dubbed a "crazy cat lady" by her friends because of the three felines who share her home. Visitors have mistaken one of them, Lincoln --who weighs in at about 23 pounds – for a raccoon.

Amanda also has the distinction of being the Best Aunt in the Universe for the past seven years straight. The award, bestowed by her nephew Nicholas, 8, and her niece, Lilly Belle, 2, is on her mantle next to her Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editor's first-place award for enterprise reporting, a Pennsylvania Keystone Press second-place award for a special project, and a Pittsburgh Press Club Golden Quill award for culture writing.

Amanda enjoys humor, cheesy horror and kung fu flicks and is a jukebox champion.

 Your Beliefs
Amanda believes in common-sense approaches to problem solving and a teamwork mentality – and loves to see those factors at play everywhere from school board meetings to municipal hearings.

Amanda believes in the value (and funding) of social agencies and the arts, and wonders how No Child Left Behind will ultimately affect those programs in the public school system. Amanda is an advocate for gay rights and believes if you don't vote, you shouldn't complain.

Politics
Amanda used to be registered as an independent but changed her affiliation to Democrat for myriad reasons – not the least of which is the ability to vote in the primary. She leans to the left (very far to the left).

Religion
Amanda considers herself more spiritual than religious, finds comfort in transcendental philosophy and carries "The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson" around like a bible.

Local Hot-Button Issues                                                                   Locally, Amanda believes that Marcellus Shale drilling, state employee pension funding and local share allocations are the hot-button issues in the Canon-McMillan community.