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By STEVEN DU BOIS; Times Leader Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 21, 1997     Page: 1A

PITTSTON- Sitting behind a big desk smoking a big cigar, City Clerk Wil
Toole looks like a man in charge.
   
But he won’t be for long.
    Citing less-than-perfect health and a desire to explore new challenges,
Toole announced he will retire from his $38,915-per-year job on Dec. 1.
   
“I’ve been kicking it around and thinking, thinking and thinking about my
options,” said Toole. “I just feel that it is time to step back from public
life and take time to consider my options.
   
“Under the best circumstances, these positions are strenuous. If you have a
type-A personality like me, it catches up with you. It was wearing me down.”
   
The retirement did not come as a surprise.
   
The “Toole Watch” has been in effect since May, when Michael Lombardo
defeated Mayor Tom Walsh in the Democratic mayoral primary.
   
Lombardo had accused Toole of using his office for political gain, so it
seemed unlikely that the two would have a productive working relationship.
   
But Toole and Lombardo said their differences were overblown.
   
“What they did they had to do to get elected; I understand that,” said
Toole, 54, who has held the position since 1990. “That’s politics- I can take
it.
   
“Even Muhammad Ali was on his back a few times- and he was the greatest.”
   
Toole even said he would regret not working with Lombardo, who is favored
to beat Republican Emil Posluszny in the November election.
   
“I would have loved to work with an energetic guy like that,” he said.
   
On Monday, Lombardo praised Toole for being loyal to the city and Walsh.
   
“During my campaign, I said that Tom Walsh was a nice guy,” Lombardo said.
“And he’s been able to stay the nice guy because Wil Toole has been out front
taking all the heat. You have to applaud him for being loyal.”
   
In addition to running the city’s day-to-day operation, Toole speaks for
the city. If elected, Lombardo said the next administrator will not double as
city spokesman.
   
“The thing is there are two Wil Tooles,” Lombardo said. “There’s Wil Toole
the city clerk versus Wil Toole the politician. The problem is sometimes the
two overlapped.”
   
Toole said he would take several months to decide his future. He said he
has had four job offers, but wasn’t ready to commit to any of them.
   
There have been rumors that Toole will get a job with the county.
   
“I have not talked to anyone in the county and I am not interested in
working for the county,” he said.
   
However, he didn’t completely rule it out.
   
“If I’m walking up the walls looking for something to do, maybe,” he said.
   
Toole is going to get a city pension, but he didn’t want to talk about it.
   
“I know it’s public information, but I’m not going to tell you. If you want
it, you’re going to have to find it- if you can.
   
The pension will be about $19,500, but it was unclear Monday when Toole
would begin to collect.
   
“Whatever pension I’m entitled to, I’m going to collect,” he said.
   
As Toole was talking, Walsh popped his head in the door.
   
“Very good, fantastic, done a great job,” Walsh said when asked about
Toole’s performance over the years. “But when you lose you have to go, I
guess.”
   
Toole, who said his remaining goal is to leave the city with a solid
budget, leaves with no regrets.
   
“I would have done it for free,” Toole said.
   
Later, he had one melancholy thought.
   
“It’s nice to be a part of history, but it’s better to be part of the
future.”
   
TIMES LEADER/BOB ESPOSITO
   
A target during the Democratic primary, Pittston City Clerk Wil Toole says
he’s resigning Dec. 1.