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WILKES-BARRE — Brian Ferry said he is a candidate for Wilkes-Barre mayor, further adding to the list of Democrats for the May 21 municipal primary.
The 31-year-old Ferry joins incumbent Mayor Tony George and former city councilman George Brown in the Democratic race. The four-year position is budgeted at an annual salary of $82,000 plus benefits this year.
Ferry said he is self-employed and does architectural design work and has a background in urban planning that he wants to tap into if elected. A Wilkes-Barre native, Ferry said he returned to the area about a year ago with the perspective of what other places are doing successfully.
“I’ve got a lot of ideas that have not really been explored here yet,” Ferry said Thursday. Among his proposals are crime prevention through environmental design, long-range planning to attract investors and employers, revitalization of the city through the arts, and using the Susquehanna River as an asset.
The city’s financial problems have not gone away and will have to be addressed sooner rather than later, Ferry said. “Because there is trouble ahead that’s exactly why we need a 30-year plan.”
While attending the University of Colorado, he worked on project involving long-range planning for the town of Silverthorne, Colorado. He said he’s also gained budgeting experience while working as a contracting officer’s representative at the Tobyhanna Army Depot.
“My big thing is that I’m young, I’m passionate and I’m looking at a lot of newer ideas,” Ferry said.
He plans to do neighborhood canvassing and use social media to campaign at https://www.facebook.com/BrianFerryForMayor/. He also encouraged people to read his plan to revitalize the city.