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By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
Bill O'Boyle on Facebook   |   @TLBillOboyle on Twitter

State Rep. John Yudichak on Monday made it official – he will seek to replace the retiring Raphael Musto in the state Senate.

Rep. John Yudichak

Clark Van Orden/The Times Leader

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Mike Chewey of Harveys Lake working out of carpenters Local 645 wishes Rep. John Yudichak of Nanticoke luck with his campaign to run for the State Senate in the 14th District. Yudichak announced his candidacy Monday in Nanticoke. Clark Van Orden/photo

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Yudichak’s entry into the race in all likelihood will set up an intense primary battle with fellow Democrat Tom Leighton. Sources close to the Wilkes-Barre mayor said Leighton will announce his candidacy within the next week to 10 days.

Yudichak, 39, made his announcement at the construction site of the Luzerne County Community College’s Culinary Arts Institute in center city Nanticoke with representatives of four unions standing behind him.

He is the first Democrat to officially announce for the seat that will be vacated at the end of the year when Musto retires.

Republican Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen Urban said he might run for the GOP nomination for the Senate seat.

“The workers on this job site know better than any politician that the challenges facing their families are serious – people are out of work and they have lost faith in the idea that government can work for them,” Yudichak said.

He vowed to work for the district and said the people of the 14th District want a senator who will “rise above politics” and fight for issues in every corner of the district.

“This is not your typical political announcement,” Yudichak said. “There are no balloons and no politicians standing next to me; I have the support of hard-working people like the guys standing behind me.”

Yudichak said he welcomes a challenge from within the Democratic Party, saying a campaign will give him the opportunity to discuss his record – a record he said that will show he has stood up to party leaders and has crossed the political aisle to work for legislation that benefits his constituents and the people of Pennsylvania.

“The construction you see happening here on Main Street in Nanticoke – a $30 million investment that will bring hundreds of new jobs to Luzerne County – represents just how hard I am willing to fight to create jobs and economic opportunity for all of Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Yudichak said. “I have listened to the workers on this site and they want Harrisburg to get to work for them; they want good jobs, betters schools for their kids and safer communities for their families. I believe, with the support of working families from Luzerne, Carbon and Monroe counties, I can be a leader who gets things done in the Pennsylvania state Senate.”

Yudichak said elected officials in Harrisburg “sometimes forget who they work for.” He said, if elected, he would seek advice from Musto when he felt it was needed.

Yudichak was first elected to represent the residents of the 119th Legislative District in 1998. He said for more than a decade, he has been regarded as an effective and independent advocate for the people of Pennsylvania.

Yudichak said that he has led the fight in Harrisburg on important issues, including: property tax relief, expansion of health care coverage through the PACE and CHIP programs, historic investments in education and the protection of the environment. Mark Bufalino, chairman of the Luzerne County Democratic Committee, said the executive committee of the organization will meet soon to decide if it will endorse candidates in the May primary.

Representatives of four unions stood with Yudichak during his announcement: Carpenters local 645, Iron Workers local 489, Electricians local 81 and Laborers local 130.

“John Yudichak has always supported us,” said Drew Simpson, Northeastern manager for the Carpenters Union. “He has always worked to help bring family-sustaining jobs and wages to the area.”

Yudichak said he has a “simple vision” of what government should do: Create economic opportunities, provide better schools and assure safer neighborhoods.

“That’s not a lot to ask for,” Yudichak said. “People need a safe place to live and work and they want health care security.”

Republican Rick Arnold, 47, of Mountain Top, will announce that he will run for Yudichak’s House seat. Arnold owns R.T. Arnold Building Contractors and said he constructs custom homes. He calls himself a blue-collar worker – “a framer turned homebuilder with a splash of politics.”

Arnold was in Harrisburg Monday to meet with state GOP leaders to discuss his candidacy.

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.