Election results 2017- Municipal races

Some selected results from some down ballot races that I had an interest in because friends of mine were in the running. Spoiler alert, most of them lost. Sometimes I feel like the black cat of politics.

John Cordora at Blogfest

Longtime Kingston resident John Cordora ran for for Mayor of Luzerne as a Democrat. John has been a Republican candidate for State Rep and Mayor of Kingston. I always found him to one of the more entertaining people on the local political scene. He was always a good sport taking my snark in stride even when I said he resembles Vincent Price.

James Keller (R)  280
                                                          John Cordora (D)  235

Luzerne County Young Republican Prez John Lombardo  made his first run for elective office as a candidate for the Pittston Area School Board. It was just a matter of time before we saw his name on the ballot and it won't be the last. He's been a guest blogger on Gort42.   John is a lot like the young Gort becoming a political junkie at a young age.  He ran a great race and came close.

Joseph Salvo (DEM)		2,714
John Lombardo (REP)		2,384

 Keep an eye on what goes on in Kingston Township in the near future. I predict they are heading for  all sorts of legal challenges involving sunshine law violations and of conflicts of interest. The winning candidate is the son of of one of the present Supervisors who works for the township  road
Department.

Liz Martin has been a hard working public servant who deserved reelection.

Robert Wagner (R)  841
Liz Martin (D)         774

Blogfest Fall 2017

The Bloggers and the Blogcon Squirrels

Another great Blogfest was held at the River Grille in Plains. In addition to the political types NEPA Blogcon joined us for their after party. There is always a prize for the person who traveled the farthest and this time it goes to PA Lt. Governor candidate Aryanna Berringer who came all the way from Pittsburgh. Aryanna is no stranger to our area, she lived in W-B a few years ago.


Two 11th Congressional District candidates also traveled a bit. Democrat Alan Howe from Carlisle made another appearance in the area and Republican Andrew Shecktor left the wilds of Berwick to
join us.




 Many Luzerne County hopefuls were there. Both Controller candidates, incumbent Michelle Bednar (D) and former Controller Walter Griffith (R), worked the crowd. County Council Democratic nominees Wendy Cominsky, Matt Vough mixed it up with Republicans Marc Dixon and Greg Wolovich. Municipal candidates included Luzerne Mayor candidate John Cordara (D?), incumbent Dallas Twp. Supervisor Liz Martin (D) and Plains Twp. Commissioner nominee Barry Kresge (R).
Plus W-B City Councilman Tony Brooks (R) and State Rep Jerry Mullery.

The NEPA Blogcon group were a lot of fun and added energy to the gathering.

Local TV coverage

Bloggers meet political candidates in person

Looking to the fall: State Rep 120th District

I was going to a roundup of the 3 competitive Luzerne County state rep races in one post but decided to address them individually. Since I started blogging I think I have given more ink (ether, pixels) to state rep races than any other local blogger and maybe as much space as the local papers.I always cover the underdogs in these races.

At a rally that  Phyllis Mundy recently hosted for him our next likely Congressman Matt Cartwright said ""Phyllis is a giant in the Democratic Party." So that raises the question can Republican Aaron Kaufer be a giant killer? Probably not but that is why we have elections.

In the recent primary election with an abysmal turnout Mundy got 4210 votes to Kaufer's 2917. In the 2010 primary she gathered 5400 to Republican West Pittston mayor Bill Goldsworthy 3223.The General Election results returned Phylis to Harrisburg  in the very Republican/Tea Party year of  2010 winning a solid 53% 10,153, to Goldsworthy's 6154 32% with Libertarian Tim Mullen mounting a valiant effort finishing with 2858 15%.

Looking at the campaign finance reports on the PA Department of State Mundy is way out in front with $48,000 cash on hand to Kaufer's $3300. Mundy raised $21K since the beginning of the year adding to the balance carried over. Kaufer snagged $6375in contributions  which is a surprise. One item on Kaufer's CFR that piqued my interest was this in-kind contribution from Sheldon Kaufer of $6000. It is described as Office rent for Jan., Feb.,March 2012. Who get's 2 grand a month for office space around here?

I like Aaron and you all know that Phyllis is one of my top 5 legislators.

Below are a few challengers that Phyllis has vanquished in the past and may in the future

L to R

Bill James, Aaron Kaufer, Rick Arnold ( another district), Tim Mullen, Bill Goldsworthy, John Cordora

Aaron Kaufer for State Representative

Young Republican Aaron Kaufman announced he is a candidate for the 120th State Representative seat presently held by Democrat Phyllis Mundy. It looks like this will be a 2 person race as no Libertarian seems to be interested unlike last time and I haven't heard of another Republican on the west side willing to take on my 4th favorite state legislator.

Kaufer gave a very polished speech saying it's time for a change and cited an old adage about not making waves in politics, he said he wanted to make waves. Then he lamented that "compromise became a dirty word" and promised to work across the aisle.

He hit 4 issues in his talk.

1. The grant system. He doesn't like WAM's

2. Government reform. He is running against the perks of the legislature opposing their pensions, health care, COLA's and the per diems of $163 a day.

3. He said some things about educating our children. We should do it.

4. Economic growth. He is for it.

Without naming his opponent Kaufer asked "are you being adequately represented"? and said "I can do better." Invoking Saint Ronny he declared "our best days are ahead."

After the event I asked Kaufer what the the first bill he would introduce he said it would be about the perks and per diems of the legislature. I asked him how much money that would save but he didn't have a number. He also favors reducing the size of the legislature.

This a great picture below. All the Republicans and a Libertarian wh0 came up short in past elections with the latest GOP candidate in the 120th Discrict.

(Lto R) Bill James, Aaron Kaufer, Rick Arnold, Tim Mullen, Bill Goldsworthy, John Cordara

Phyllis Mundy has been the State Reprensenative of the 120th District since 1991. She will be hard to beat.

Cordora backs Mullen

Most endorsements are good for a press release then forgotten the next day. This one isn't even worth a release but I got one from Tim Mullen anyway. I know the Libertarian candidate in the 120th State House district has a big hill to climb to even get on the November ballot and welcomes support from anyone but this one should have been quietly accepted then ignored.


I got this email: After several talks with him, it is pretty much official. John Cordora, Republican from Kingston, who was Phyllis Mundy's last opponent in 2006 has endorsed me. http://www.timesleader.com/opinion/letters/MAIL_BAG__ensp_LETTERS_FROM_READERS_06-14-2010.html I will continue to personally contact as many elected officials in this district as possible to win their support.

Yes, Cordora ran against Phyllis Mundy in 2006 but he got blown out of the water losing the election by a 3 to 1 margin. His top issues in that race was his opposition to gay marriage and abortion and "all the other liberal garbage." From what I have been reading the Libertarians favor gay marriage and think the Government should be kept out of the matter of abortion.

Last year he ran for Mayor of Kingston with a secret plan to prevent crime and despite his claim that he had visited thousands of homes whose residents agreed that Jim Haggerty should be replaced he only pulled 254 votes in the Republican primary. He then backed the Democrat in the race promising to deliver 500 votes. That didn't happen and Haggerty was easily reelected.

I actually like Cordora because he is good copy but I would never want him to get anywhere near an elective office. Mullen is an outsider and should quit wasting his time trying to get endorsements from failed candidates and elected officials who will just blow him off.

Bill Goldsworthy is the Republican candidate.

Goldsworthy taking on Phyllis in 120th

As first reported by Sights on Pennsylvania West Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy will seek the Republican nomination to take on long time Democratic State Rep Phyllis Mundy in the 120th District that includes a big chunk of the west side of Luzerne County.


Mundy was unopposed in 2008 and faced token opposition from one of my favorite local cranks and talk radio fan John Cordora in 2006. After losing the GOP primary last year for Mayor of Kingston to Jim Haggerty on a platform of having a secret plan to fight crime Cordora backed the Democrat in the General Election. Now he is writing letters to the editor supporting Dave Madeira's bid for Congress.

Goldsworthy has been Mayor of West Pittston for a long time and won reelection last year by 280 votes. He is not happy about the latest budget debacle in Harrisburg because it hurt senior citizens and children's programs. “Many people served by these agencies were harmed.” He sounds like a compassionate conservative.

Then there is ambition “I will enter the race,” Goldsworthy said Thursday. “I’ve always considered running for state representative, but after the travesty of this past year, well, it just put me over the edge.”...“I just feel the time has come for me to run for this office.”

Phyllis welcomes the challenge

“I will run on my record and my dedicated service to my constituents,” she said. “I’ve always been very issue-oriented; I will continue to fight for the best interests of my district. I think if you ask any average citizen, they will tell you they are pleased with my record.”

Mundy has been a long time thorn in the side of Blue Cross and a champion of senior citizens.

There is a rumor that another Republican may get into the race. I hope so because this is a political blog that hates uncontested elections. Give me a horse race.

Now he thinks he is Boss Tweed

I have to like John Cordora because he is a Blogger's dream. Cordora is like our own local version of Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann.
If you want someone to say something that is bat shit crazy he is your guy.

In 2006 he won the Republican nomination for State Rep in the 120th District. He ran a stealth campaign and came out ahead of 2 very attractive candidates. In the general election against Phyllis Mundy he got blown out and then blamed his loss on Lynette Villano and the Luzerne County GOP. His top issue was gay marriage.

In a news release, Cordora also attacked Mundy for supporting "abortion on demand, higher taxes, gay marriage and all the other liberal garbage."

In the recent primary election he was a Republican candidate for Mayor of Kingston saying he had a secret plan to prevent crime. It had something to do with putting a large spotlight on top of the new fire station on Wyoming Ave. that projects the image of a winged mammal that calls a Caped Crusader into action. He claimed to have visited thousands of homes in Kingston and found agreement that Jim Haggerty was a lousy Mayor. On election day he got a whopping 254 votes.


Now he is backing the Democrats.

TL: “I’m going to make sure I deliver at least 500 votes to (mayoral candidate Stephen) Radzinski and (council candidates) Barry Adams and Curt Piazza,” said Cordora.

Let's do the math. He gets 254 votes in a town that is still leading in Republican registration and then promises 500 votes for the Dems after he gets clobbered in the primary.

Everytime I hear someone say our problems in Luzerne County are a result of voting in Democrats all the time I think of him. I agree that one party dominance is not healthy but our local R's have to recruit some serious candidates



More John Cordora fun is in my archives.

Who's running for what?-Mayor of Kingston

The TL has some announcements.

Jim Haggerty is running for reelection saying "The future of our community is as bright as ever.” He will probably cruise to another term in the job that he has held since 1998. He has basics down, the trash is picked up on time and the streets are plowed when it snows. The police force is professionally run and he has partnered with Edwardsville to provide better fire protection and ambulance service.


Haggerty is also running for the Luzerne County Government Study Commission. He told me that he can contribute to the study because he is the Mayor of a home rule municipality and would bring the nuts and bolts experience of governing to the formation of the new charter. He also predicted that Home Rule would win this time.

Mayor Jim has 2 opponents in the GOP primary, Jeanne Shuella and John Cordora. I don't know anything about Shuella but Cordora rings a bell. He said the centerpiece of his campaign will be the lack of crime prevention in Kingston. “I have a common sense, aggressive plan to reduce crime in Kingston and I only want one term as mayor to prove it.” If someone can figure out how to prevent crime they should patent the process and sell it.


Cordora ran for State Rep against Phyllis Mundy in 2006 and got trounced. Then his "centerpiece" was his opposition to gay marriage and the pay raise. For most of the campaign he was the invisible man and when he did raise his head he attacked Mundy for supporting "abortion on demand, higher taxes, gay marriage and all the other liberal garbage." I think he listens to too much talk radio. After the election he blamed his loss on Lynette Villano and the dysfunctional Luzerne County Republican Party.

There are 2 Democrats running for Mayor of Kingston, Curt Piazza and Stephen Radinski.