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Several Luzerne County Council candidates have submitted official announcements as part of their May 19 primary election campaign:
• Ray Gustave, Republican
Gustave said he is running because he believes it is important to get involved in government and provide input on decisions that may significantly affect lives. He said he has substantial work and life experience and has offered many positive suggestions speaking at county government meetings.
“I’ve concluded, however, that in order to get things done and make meaningful improvements, I need a seat at the table rather than the three minutes allotted for the public comment period,” he said.
Gustave said he is familiar with the county’s home rule charter and county council because he has attended many meetings, including most sessions of the study commission that drafted the charter.
A US Air Force and Vietnam veteran, Gustave graduated from Wilkes University and retired from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2007 after 37 years of federal service that included work overseeing multimillion dollar contracts and submitting research budgets to Congress.
Before returning to the Wyoming Valley in 2008, he was heavily involved in community affairs for more than 20 years, forming a civic association at one development where he resided and later serving as vice president of a board of trustees at another 1,400-home development, resulting in experience managing community budgets, contracts and other affairs.
He also managed day-to-day operations in West Wyoming as borough manager for nearly two years.
He resides in West Wyoming with his wife, Donna, and wants to focus on identifying new county revenue sources other than property taxes to repay debt, restore the homestead tax break and provide additional tax relief to property owners.
“Another goal is to move the county government towards being more proactive instead of reactive,” he said.
• Tim McGinley, Democrat
McGinley, of Kingston, is seeking re-election for a second term and is among the candidates endorsed by the Luzerne County Democratic Party.
He said he brings more than 40 years of experience as an educator, administrator and community leader to the role and is dedicated to continuing to meet the community’s needs through responsible and committed county government, efficiencies and transparency.
“We’ve made progress in some areas, but there are still many more areas we need to keep working on in order to get county government to a better place,” McGinley said. “Having served on council the last four years has made me privy to the many areas we need to continue to focus on to move Luzerne County forward.”
McGinley was employed for more than 30 years in the public school system, where he was a high-school chemistry teacher, athletic director, wrestling coach and school administrator. He most recently served as administration director for the Commission on Economic Opportunity in Wilkes-Barre, where he worked with governments at all levels and was involved in grant writing, budget preparation and analysis and supervising personnel, facilities and programs.
Additionally, McGinley is a veteran scholastic and collegiate wrestling official and past coach for Kingston Little League baseball and softball teams.
He has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wilkes University, a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Scranton and has completed continuing graduate studies in chemistry and educational leadership at both of those universities in addition to Lehigh University, Penn State University and Temple University.
McGinley and his wife, the former Mary Maloney, have two children, Michael McGinley and Erin McGinley, both of Kingston.
• John J Pekarovsky, Democrat
Pekarovsky resides in Larksville with his wife, Joan, and sons, John and Justin.
A Wyoming Valley West High School graduate, Pekarovsky attended Luzerne County Community College and East Stroudsburg University. He works as a claims supervisor at Progressive Insurance.
Pekarovsky served on Larksville Council for more than 16 years and is currently the vice chairman. He also is the Luzerne County Democratic Party Fourth District chairman.
Currently a PIAA football official, Pekarovsky has been active in the community and with youth sports. He has served as coach and vice president for the Edwardsville-Larksville Little League and has coached in the Larksville Junior Basketball League and Larksville Mini-Football Organization. He later moved on to coach football at the Bishop O’Reilly and Bishop Hoban high schools.
• Robert W. Schnee, Democrat
A lifelong Hazleton area resident and Hazleton High School graduate, Schnee is the son of the late Robert and Amelia (Scatton) Schnee and is married to the former Jamie Clement.
Over the past 35 years, he has worked with budgets more than $80 million as a Hazleton Area School Board member, served as president of the local steel workers union and Hazleton Water Authority union, has been a PIAA basketball official, a Hazleton assistant high school football coach, a Hazleton Area Quarterback Club member and coach of the Hazle Township Little League, the Ernie Valente Midget Football team and PAL basketball.
“I have been involved with the community in many ways throughout my whole life. This is an opportunity to take my experience in office along with my involvement in various organizations and use that to help move our county forward.”