Luzerne County council

November 2

Endorsed candidates for Luzerne County Council

The Butler Township resident, 63, served for eight years on the Hazleton Area School Board, overseeing a budget and staff comparable to Luzerne County’s government. She works as supervisor of library services for the Greater Hazleton Health Alliance. “I think that I bring a level of experience to the table,” she said, “and I come with a background that would help us with this new beginning.”

The Wilkes-Barre resident, 35, teaches history at Dallas Middle School. He also serves as an instructor of a citizenship class for Luzerne County Community College in Hazleton. “We need people (on county council) who are going to come in and work together as adults,” he said, “to balance the budget, to bring decency and respect back to the county …”

The Kingston resident, 31, won the admiration of many people for capably serving as chairman of Luzerne County’s Home Rule Transition Committee, charged with crafting policies and laying groundwork for the incoming county council members. An attorney for a Plymouth firm, he would be an invaluable asset to the council when it takes charge in January. “We all have to be on the same page,” he said.

The Dallas Township resident, 67, is a retired teacher mathematics teacher and formerly served on Plymouth’s borough council. He knows numbers and expresses a desire to see a significant shift in the way this debt-heavy county operates. “We need an electorate who will commit to vote for people who are not politicians, but those who are willing to be servants, do their job and not worry about being re-elected,” he said.

The Franklin Township resident, 52, has owned a pharmacy in Freeland for 17 years. He advocates for a “team effort” between county employees and the new council. “We need … to have that dialogue with the folks that are working in the county, because I think they hold a lot of the answers to improving budget issues, (bringing) new ideas.”

The Kingston resident, 64, is a former chemistry teacher, now working as director of administration for the Commission on Economic Opportunity, based in Wilkes-Barre. He knows the delicate nature of group dynamics. “I know we have to build a consensus among the council members, and we have to work at that … so that everybody can support the decisions that come out of the council.”

The Sugarloaf Township resident, 39, is the only candidate in the field who can claim to have been with home rule since the beginning, serving on both the Luzerne County Government Study Commission and the subsequent transition committee. Aside from valuable knowledge, he has an independent streak. “I’m no one’s rubber stamp,” he said. “I’m going to be vocal and that’s what I’m going to continue to bring to the table.”

The Kingston resident, 73, retired as president of Wyoming Seminary in 2007. He is an adjunct, part-time history faculty member at Misericordia University in Dallas Township. He joined the campaign as an Independent candidate. “If there is no independent voice on some issues,” he said, “there’s no question that party loyalty and party persuasiveness will influence the formation of a majority.”

The Dorrance Township resident, 61, works as an English and American studies professor at Penn State Hazleton. She formerly owned a real estate company and previously served as president of Laflin’s borough council. “I know how to budget, I know how to manage,” she said. “I know what to look for when we need to hire people.”

The Wilkes-Barre resident, 58, has served as a Luzerne County commissioner since 2000 and participates on the Home Rule Transition Committee. His know-how about county operations could spare the new council from many blunders. “I’ve always believed that you have to have some core competency before you make a vote,” he said. “You should know the facts before you speak, and I’m willing to share that information with other council members.”

The Kingston resident, 63, is a partner in a Wilkes-Barre architectural firm. An Independent candidate, he sees the folly of injecting politics into nuts-and-bolts county business involving roads, parks and other services. “My hope is that the new council comes together as cooperative people who sit down and listen, analyze, ask for the information, discuss things, listen to the voters and listen to themselves – and then vote their conscience.”

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