120th District update

With all the comings and goings of candidates for Luzerne County's seats in the legislature I'm going to try and sort out who is running for what. Today we start with the 120th District House seat held by Democrat Phyllis Mundy. So far she does not have a primary opponent but 4 Republicans have announced their intention to seek the nomination to oppose her.

The first to announce was Kingston businessman John C. Cordara who said his decision to run for the state House of Representatives was ignited by Mundy's support of last year's controversial pay-raise legislation. In his official announcement he said " My first order of business is to ban gay marriage." He also had an amusing letter published in the TL recently:

Every two years, liberal state Rep. Phyllis Mundy comes out of her hole to predict the political climate for the next two years. She is paid $72,500 plus many benefits per year to do so.
This year, Phyllis, known to some taxpayers as "Punxsutawney Phyllis," saw her shadow. That means two more years of pay raises and self-serving politics.

The second candidate to throw his hat into the ring is Forty Fort Borough Council President Joe Chacke. In his announcement he outlined his role in the Forty Fort police crises and Phyllis Mundy's lack of involvement. From his website:

This past year Forty Fort Borough made a very difficult and controversial decision. Based on skyrocketing costs and with our incomes declining, we couldn't afford the police department as is. After many months of intense meetings and negotiating with the police department, we reached an agreement that saved the department and made it economically feasible to maintain it. Throughout the entire ordeal, Representative Phyllis Mundy sat idly by without offering any support or guidance to the Borough. We need a PRO-ACTIVE Representative in Harrisburg who is willing to work with local government officials to assist them with these issues.

West Pittston educator Paul J. M. Stebbins Jr. is an outspoken opponent of regionalization and thinks slots are not the answer to funding our schools. He has some detailed positions on his website.

In the area of crime he favors expanding the predator Task Force and will work with the Pennsylvania Drug Task Force to combat illegal drugs in our area. And "He plans to introduce project PEACE into our local school districts to bring youth violence to a halt. " He also outlines an education plan and believes the first step in health care reform is tort reform.

The other new candidate is Jackson Township Republican Ronald Chvotzkin. He originally was a candidate to succeed retiring State Senator Charles Lemmond but switched to the house race. He is motivated by a frustration in dealing the mental health system and will not take a pay raise if elected. He calls himself a "people's candidate" There will be no back room deals or nepotism," he said. "The wealthy people have too much control and the poor are getting poorer and the middle class are feeling the squeeze. I'm running to help the people." . He supports eliminating the property tax with a tax based on income and wants to restore funding to special education. In addition, Chvotzkin said he will work to create more high-paying jobs in the district and reduce health insurance premiums