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First Posted: 4/18/2013 9:22:31 AM

HAZLETON – Mayor Lou Barletta, known for his local crackdown on illegal immigration, has been named Mayor of the Year by his peers in the Pennsylvania State Mayors Association.

“It’s an honor I’ll remember the rest of my life because of who the award was given to me by,” Barletta said on Sunday. “Being honored by your peers is really a great honor.”

Lititz Mayor Russell Pettyjohn, chairman of the association’s six-member Mayor of the Year committee, described Barletta as a “hands-on mayor,” who was present at crime scenes and fires.

Pettyjohn said the award committee members were to consider how many years the nominees had been mayors, other community organizations in which they serve, what the mayors do in addition to their regular mayoral duties and other issues.

Pettyjohn, who won the same award two years ago and noted that two other mayors on the committee were past award recipients, said there was a common thread in the thinking of the judges.

“I think he really put his neck out for the (illegal) immigration portion” of his work “that we as mayors don’t know if we would have had the courage to do,” Pettyjohn said.

Barletta in 2006 asked Hazleton City Council to pass the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which would have fined landlords and denied business permits to landlords and businesses that knowingly rented to or employed illegal immigrants.

The law, which a U.S. District Court judge struck down as unconstitutional last August, also would have required all city tenants to register with the city and pay for occupancy permits. Registration would require proof of U.S. citizenship or residency status. The city of Hazleton has appealed the case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Many other municipalities across the country have considered similar ordinances.

Pettyjohn said the vote for Barletta to win the award was unanimous. He said it’s that risk-taking that tends to appeal to judges.

Pettyjohn said he won the award after getting his city council to pass an ordinance that would fine juveniles caught smoking tobacco in the city of Lititz.

“I thought to myself, if you can’t purchase cigarettes if you’re under 18, why should you be able to smoke cigarettes if you’re under 18,” Pettyjohn said.

Several other towns are now considering the same ordinance, Pettyjohn said.

Barletta said he was “totally shocked” when the award was presented to him Saturday at the association’s annual meeting in Gettysburg.

“I was asked to come down and speak. That’s why I thought I was there, not knowing I was nominated,” Barletta said.

Pettyjohn said award recipients are never informed that they won until during the award presentation.

He said he called City Council President Joseph Yannuzzi, who nominated Barletta for the award, to help come up with a way to make sure Barletta attended the association’s 18th annual award presentation.

Because Barletta had spoken to the association last year, Yannuzzi suggested Pettyjohn invite him back to give the mayors an update on Hazleton’s progress.

So after Barletta gave his speech on Hazleton, he was called back up to receive his award.

While the award might be a feather in his political cap, Pettyjohn said Barletta’s run for the 11th Congressional District this year against 12-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, played no part in the committee’s decision.

Pettyjohn said he was surprised to learn Barletta was running for Congress when the three-term Republican mayor noted the fact in his speech on Hazleton’s progress.

The committee was also unaware that Barletta was the only mayor from the United States to serve on the United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities. President George Bush appointed him to the position in 2004.

Pettyjohn said Barletta received a standing ovation after receiving the award.

Barletta credited Hazleton City Council members for their work and support and said his accomplishments with the city would not have been possible without them. He also credited his wife, Mary Grace, and daughters “who sacrificed their husband and father so I can do the things I do here for the city.”

Barletta said he accepted an invitation to join the approximately 400-member association after he spoke before the organization last year.

“I enjoy going to these types of functions because I think being mayor is the toughest political office there is because there’s nowhere to hide,” Barletta said, noting that state representatives, senators and congressmen have offices in Harrisburg or Washington, D.C.

“I really enjoy meeting and speaking with other mayors,” Barletta said.