A swell of aspiring public servants has stepped up to the challenge of carrying the Republican banner after a 2017 handoff from the capable hands of State Rep. Chris Ross and his nearly two-decade-long service in Harrisburg — which loosened their grip two years ago until the GOP favorite to replace him withdrew his name from the race.

This time contenders abound, marked by youthful energy and deep hometown roots. Familiar names of leading Chester County businesses join an entrepreneur with his fingerprints all over the community.

The next generation of Bentley Systems’ ingenuity and QVC host Mary Beth Roe’s talent, Perry Bentley and Eric Roe, are running alongside seasoned Kennett Square lawyer and community booster Leonard J. Rivera for the 2016 Republican nomination, and the Republican Committee of Chester County plans to throw its weight behind one of them on Jan. 28.

Bentley, a native of Unionville and product of “conservative family values and pro-growth policies,” aims to “bring a new and ambitious policy-based approach to solving some of the problems in our commonwealth and offer solutions with energy and (optimism) and with a mind for business,” he said in a Southern Chester County Weeklies report by Fran Maye.

At Bentley Systems, he works to foster business climate improvements, grants to innovative education programs and responsible corporate governance.

“The communities of this district need a representative who will effectively advance the case for conservative renewal in Harrisburg,” he said. “I believe I have the political experience and business background to lead that charge.”

Roe, on the other hand, brings a passion and big-picture perspective directly to the political realm. He’s a well-traveled West Goshen man who spent time as a Republican National Committee staffer and a special assistant for a Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff-run consulting firm, and now as an analyst for Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline.

“My legislative priorities are in line with the unalienable rights found in the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said in a Daily Local News story by Michael Rellahan. “It is important for us to defend the defenseless, including the unborn. Stopping higher taxes from eroding our freedoms is a high priority.”

And Rivera has spent his career around the pulse of Kennett Square, and he hopes to tap into that lifeblood to “make a difference in the district and the state, and to represent the community values that are important to taxpayers, parents and voters,” he said in a Chadds Ford Live introduction by Kathleen Brady Shea.

His experience draws from time served as part of the Chester Water Authority; as the longest-serving La Comunidad Hispana board member; as the current vice president of the Longwood Rotary; in roles for the Kennett Education Foundation board, the Kennett Area YMCA board and the Kennett Area YMCA Capital Campaign; and as a coach of the Kennett High School Mock Trial Team as well as area youth basketball and soccer teams.

State Rep. Chris Ross House seat serves East Bradford, East Marlborough, Newlin, London Britain, New Garden, West Bradford, West Goshen and West Marlborough townships, and Avondale Borough.

Read more about the announced candidates in the Southern Chester County Weeklies here, in the Daily Local News here and on Chadds Ford Live here.