PD News

November 4, 2009

New Pittston mayor gets 98% of vote

Democrats Michael Lombardo and Joe Chernouskas capture seats on city council.

By Sherry Long slong@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

PITTSTON – Jason Klush is excited about leading his hometown as mayor. It’s the Democrat’s first time in the political arena, but he said he believes he will bring new-initiative ideas.

Klush, 33, ran unopposed in this election, receiving 1,257 votes or 98.36 percent, according to unofficial election results Tuesday night.

He wants to restore the city’s small-town feel and charm.

“We are going to try to clean the place up a little bit. We want to make the place a little bit better to look at, we want to clean up some of the parks and get the police force a little bit stronger. We want to get it back to like a big neighborhood than a city. We want to get everybody together and get more community activity,” Klush said.

He will receive an annual $3,000 salary for the post.

Michael Lombardo and Joe Chernouskas, both Democrats, won seats on the city council, according to unofficial results. Both are political newcomers. They will receive an annual $2,000 salary for the seats.

Lombardo, 31, received 1,154 votes or 52.03 percent; Chernouskas, 37, got 1,020 votes or 45.99 percent, beating out Barb Zangre who ran a write-in campaign.

It’s unknown exactly how many of the 44 write-in votes, or 1.98 percent, were cast for Zangre. Her exact numbers should be known when the county election bureau has its official count within a few days.

Zangre has been a vocal advocate of the city’s children, asking council members to restore the city pool and parks.

Lombardo started his term early when in June he was appointed by council to fill Mayor Donna McFadden-Connors’ seat after she became mayor to fill a vacancy left when former Mayor Joe Keating resigned. Lombardo is excited about his win and believes his advance experience on council will be beneficial to helping Chernouskas, a supervisor for Penguin Group USA, and Klush get adjusted to their new public service duties.

“I’m excited about it,” said Lombardo, who is the younger cousin of former Pittston mayor, Michael Lombardo. “I love working for the city and trying to improve things as the best of my ability. … Everything I’ve learned I’ve tried to keep Joe and Jason in the loop. Letting them know what’s going on. Letting them know we are having meetings. Letting them know what the issues are.” Councilman Lombardo is an attorney and formerly a member of the city’s ambulance and fire department for several years.

Chernouskas secured a spot on the ballot in August after being selected as a candidate by the Democratic Party, following Terry Best’s decision to withdraw his nomination. Chernouskas lost a council election in 2005.

Chris Latona won his sixth four-year term as controller with with 1,124 votes or 99.65 percent. He was unopposed in this election for a post he has held since 1990.

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