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WILKES-BARRE — The choices have been made in some of the city races, but in city council Districts B and D residents will have to choose between candidates in Tuesday’s general election.

In District B, incumbent Republican Tony Brooks faces Democratic challenger Mark Shaffer. Across town in District D, Democrat Bill Barrett is seeking his fifth, four-year term and running against Republican Ryan Verdekal.

Unlike those contested races, George Brown has no opposition for the office of mayor. He outpolled Mayor Tony George by a more than 3-1 margin in the Democratic mayoral primary last May.

Democrat Darren Snyder, who is seeking a second term as controller, has no opponent.

In District A, incumbent Democrat Mike Belusko is unopposed and so is Beth Gilbert McBride, a Democratic incumbent for District C.

Newcomer John Marconi secured the Democratic nomination for the District E seat that became open when councilman Mike Merritt announced he would not seek reelection.

All the council seats are for four-year terms. Council pays $13,199 a year with benefits. The chairperson receives a higher salary of $14,699.

District D

A former city police chief, Bill Barrett said he believes he has the experience, education and qualifications to be an effective and productive council member.

Barrett, 69, is a lifelong city resident. He is the interim Director of the Public Safety Training Institute at Luzerne County Community College.

“After over 25 years of service with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, I have come to know very well every neighborhood, its concerns and how to address problems that the residents may have,” Barrett said. “My previous terms on council have also given me extensive insight into the operations of city government, the various departments, city policies and procedures, finances, and the role council plays in municipal government.”

It’s one thing to identify problems, Barrett said, and another thing to solve them. He said “one of my strongest qualifications is being a very solutions-driven individual.” During the current term, residents called for council to investigate the police department. But Barrett said he believed the more appropriate action was an overall assessment of the department to identify the issues and develop a plan to address the problems.

“I was able to organize and participate in a full assessment by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police which resulted in significant positive changes for the department, restoring effective policing and moving forward toward accreditation,” Barrett said.

Going forward, Barrett identified the city’s top three challenges as finances, infrastructure maintenance and problem properties.

Council has “considerable control” over the finances, Barrett said, and has the responsibility of “a balanced and sustainable annual operating budget” is in place.

“Council is also responsible for the approval of service contracts, larger purchases and any changes to the budget that may be requested,” Barrett added.

The mayor proposed increasing the annual recycling fee by $10 to $60 this year, but Barrett opposed it and requested a full accounting of all delinquent accounts. It uncovered hundreds of accounts that had not been paid. As result the city increased the delinquent account collection efforts and boosted revenues in that area by 1,200%.

Regarding council’s budget, Barrett said he does not take the healthcare package or the $1,200 for waiving it and does not participate in the pension plan.

Maintaining the city’s infrastructure is very costly, Barrett said, adding he’s worked with the administration to make sure the streets are properly maintained and there is sufficient funds and resources for repairs and replacement. He said he’s been successful with his requests for repaving and repairs to streets and alleys in his district and for playground upgrades. The city has to ensure contractors restore utility pave cuts in a professional manner, he said.

Many of the problem properties are rentals that are not properly maintained due to tenant issues or absentee landlords, Barrett said. Some are abandoned houses, he said.

Barrett said he’s worked to enact ordinances with strong penalties for landlords who fail to keep their properties up to code for owners of vacant properties who do not maintain them.

”I have been actively researching the establishment of a land bank program which will provide a relatively quick way of taking abandoned properties that can be rehabilitated, especially those with property tax delinquencies, back into safe and clean homes and hope to move forward with this initiative in the coming year,” Barrett said.

Ryan Verdekal raised concerns similar to Barrett’s regarding the condition of the roads and dealing with rental properties. But Verdekal, who’s 35 and studying to be a licensed practical nurse, proposed different solutions.

“I would try to pass an ordinance that made all landlords put a sticker on their rental properties, saying the property was inspected along with their contact information on the house itself and in a database online,” Verdekal said.

From his perspective, the city hasn’t applied a common-sense approach to fixing the roads, Verdekal said. He estimated a top-of-the-line “pothole killer machine” costs $300,000. If he gets elected, Verdekal said he would speak with the mayor about purchasing the machine with gaming grants and making sure lines and crosswalks are painted on the roads.

Although council members are elected by district, Verdekal said he’s running “because I have new plans that would benefit all citizens of Wilkes-Barre.”

He said he believes in budget cuts and would start with his salary, reducing it to $5,000 with no benefits or pension. He said he would lobby for removal of the strong mayor form of government, giving either council the power to pick police and fire chiefs or leaving it up to members of the departments. He said he would enact a two-term limit for any elected office.

“While I have no ill will towards Bill Barrett, he has served on council for 16 years which I feel that is way too long,” Verdekal said.

Council approves applications for gaming grants, or the Local Share Account program funded with revenues from the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Plains Township and Verdekal said he would vote for projects “that directly impact the neighborhoods, police force, and roads.”

In order to reduce the crime rate that he said was unacceptable, Verdekal promised to take steps to reduce it. “It is costing the city many visitors who don’t patronize our businesses because they are afraid of being injured and costing the city new residents because they don’t want to purchase a home in a crime-infested and blighted city,” he said.

Verdekal proposed creating a neighborhood block captain program “so people on their streets felt a stronger role in keeping their blocks safe and reporting any suspicious activity.”

Voter turnout and alternative voices rounded out Verdekal’s list of issues.

“The biggest challenge the city faces is the lack of people who vote and the ones who do are majority straight Democratic ticket voters. We are not getting the best and brightest in terms of politicians when people will not listen to what Republicans are saying,” Verdekal said. He attributed the lack of progress to the voters, saying, “You cannot expect change for the better to happen when voters do not care about issues, only if someone is a Democrat.”

District B

The good and the bad drew Mark Shaffer into the race for city council. Shaffer, 25, a program analyst, said he believes Wilkes-Barre “is a city of promise.” But, he said, it’s been held back by “an old boys’ network” that puts special interests over the common good.

“I am running to bring a new voice to city government and enact policies that will improve the daily lives of the majority of the residents of District B,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer listed the top three challenges for the city as crumbling infrastructure, declining housing and the opioid epidemic.

Years of “significant underinvestment” are responsible for the conditions of the city’s roads, bridges and creeks, Shaffer said. The solution he offered is a multi-year development plan with a clear strategy for infrastructure investment.

“Doing so will enable us to coordinate grant funding with city expenditures to significantly increase available funds and hold ourselves accountable to meeting key benchmarks by the plan’s deadlines,” Shaffer said.

The housing stock has eroded for a number reasons, Shaffer said. People have moved out and abandoned their homes and “soft enforcement of regulations on landlords” has resulted in neglected and blighted properties, he said.

In order to halt the decline and improve the housing stock, Shaffer said the city must enforce the existing regulations for landlords and hold them accountable.

Shaffer also supported a land bank. “Rather than sending properties to tax sales where they can be bought by unscrupulous people for a dollar, a land bank would take over these properties, fix them up, and sell them, ensuring tangible improvements are made before the sale of a property,” he said. Preference could be given to a buyer who wants to make it their residence or turn it into a tax generating business, he said.

The opioid epidemic has hit Luzerne County hard and it’s time to treat as a health crisis, Shaffer said. Instead of continuing to criminalize addiction, the city has to pursue harm reduction strategies and encourage recovery, he said.

“Through increasing access to naloxone (medication used to reverse an opioid overdose), investing in treatment, and other strategies we can save lives and tackle the epidemic at its source rather than playing whack-a-mole trying to jail away the problem,” Shaffer said.

Where Shaffer wants to start anew, Tony Brooks said he wants to build on what he’s started in his first term and continue advocating for the residents, economic development and historical preservation projects. Brooks, 54, is director and curator of the Wilkes-Barre Preservation Society.

“I will continue to leverage my good working relationship with all city departments to get things done for the residents,” Brooks said.

The Hazle Street Streetscape project in the Rolling Mill Hill neighborhood is worth fighting for Brooks said, and so is the restoration and upgrade of public parks. The renovated Spruce Street Park stands out as a success, he noted. The historic preservation efforts are underway for the Irem Temple and what’s left of the former headquarters of Planters Peanuts also can lead to economic development, he said.

Brooks prioritized the top three challenges for the city — economic development and job creation to keep down property taxes; infrastructure, clean streets and parks; and ensuring people abide by the “Quality of Life” ordinance to keep their properties and the city clean.

To meet the challenges, Brooks said he continue to work with the mayor’s office and attend meetings with potential employers, support grant applications for infrastructure, streets and parks and give his “undivided attention” to residents.

Brooks promised to continue to attend the monthly meetings of the the Rolling Mill Hill, the South Wilkes-Barre and the Downtown residents’ associations and the neighborhood Crime Watch groups in the Rolling Mill Hill, Iron Triangle, Mayflower and Goose Island sections of his district.

“When residents call me, I immediately visit them at their house to take care of their neighborhood concern by cutting through the bureaucratic red tape of City Hall,” Brooks said. To reach him, he’s made his private cellphone number available, 570-793-3631.

Clockwise from top left are Mark Shaffer, Tony Brooks, Bill Barrett and Ryan Verdekal.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Untitled-design-1.jpg.optimal.jpgClockwise from top left are Mark Shaffer, Tony Brooks, Bill Barrett and Ryan Verdekal.

By Jerry Lynott

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Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.