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By MICHAEL McNARNEY mmcnarney@leader.net
Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Page: 1A
WILKES-BARRE – In 1995, Tom McGroarty was surrounded by his six fellow
councilmen and 200 supporters at the Ramada Inn when he announced his run for
mayor.
On Monday, the mayor and his wife, Joanne, stood alone on a cold, windy
Miners Mills street corner, where the mayor said he thinks a “silent
majority” of city residents will re-elect him to a record-tying third term.
There was no campaign manager, no banners, no refreshments. Just one
embattled mayor, handing out “Thomas D. McGroarty for MAYOR” pens and
talking about paving projects, the hovercraft and free flu shots.
Joanne McGroarty was silent, leaving her coat at home and wearing only a
sweater against the chill.
When asked if his wife endorsed his choice to run again, the mayor made a
non-committal hum and said: “She was there with me.”
McGroarty answered few questions after his announcement. There was no
mention of the many stalled downtown projects or money-losing ventures,
including, but not limited to, the downtown theater, intermodal transportation
center, call center, office/retail building on South Main Street and new
streetlights.
It’s not clear which power brokers and political players stand behind
McGroarty. The O’Donnell family, longtime McGroarty allies and financiers,
have been silent on the mayoral race.
Rival Tom Leighton has the support of his fellow council members, powerful
downtown businessmen and many members of the city’s uniformed labor unions.
Though McGroarty is the incumbent, he called himself the underdog on Monday
– and has a near empty campaign war chest to prove it.
McGroarty hasn’t raised a dime since September 2000 and, when asked, he
wouldn’t name anyone – other than his wife – on his campaign committee.
As McGroarty talked to a half-dozen reporters about expanded curbside
pickup of recyclables, a garbage truck – as if on cue – rounded a corner
behind the mayor. It lumbered up Kelley Avenue and right past McHale Street,
where the mayor stood.
McGroarty said he believes the average citizens will carry him to victory.
It’s the residents who live in the neighborhoods who know about all the
improvements he’s made, the mayor added.
Standing on the street corner, McGroarty highlighted some of those
improvements. The Mill Creek levee. A freshly painted fire hydrant. A formerly
vermin-ridden house. Residents who use their recycling containers.
Improvements to Miners Mills Memorial Park. Plans to repave the road.
A trio of older residents came out of their homes to watch. Anna Krahel
sang the mayor’s praises, and even had her copy of the 2003 city calendar with
her. On it, she wrote: “Thank you, Mayor Tom.”
Neighbors said they had been alerted ahead of time to McGroarty’s
announcement, originally scheduled for 11 a.m. But that time came and went,
and many residents were attending noon Mass when McGroarty got started at 1:10
p.m.
There was no reaction from Leighton, who, according to his family, is
bedridden with the flu and unable to talk on the phone. Ed Mitchell, a
campaign consultant to whom Leighton paid more than $33,000 in 2002, did not
return telephone calls.
City Councilwoman Kathy Kane, whose husband swore in McGroarty in 1996,
said she supports Leighton. She was unimpressed by the accomplishments the
mayor talked about.
“All those are things any administration is supposed to do – street
paving, the hydrants – that’s expected,” Kane said.
Rob Finlay of Humford Equities has given McGroarty $5,300 in cash and free
office space in the past.
“All he did was lie, lie, lie, and never cooperate with anyone,” Finlay
said of McGroarty. “That’s it.”
Michael McNarney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7305.