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GOP hopefuls announce plans to run together. Incumbent Urban conveys reservations about other nominees.
Republicans Bill James, at left, and Stephen A. Urban announced Wednesday that they will be running as a team in the Luzerne County commissioner race.
Times Leader staff photo/Aimee Dilger
Stephen A. Urban and Bill James will run as a Republican team in the Luzerne County Commissioner race, they announced Wednesday.
Urban, a two-term incumbent, said he chose James because they are both veterans, share similar views on many issues and are free to work full time because they don’t have other jobs or own businesses.
James, of Exeter Township, was the second-highest Republican vote-getter in the 2003 primary, Urban said.
This is the first time Urban, of Wilkes-Barre, is running as part of a team in the primary, though he and James ran as a team for the 2003 general election. Urban said he has realized that solidifying early is the best way to ensure a Republican majority.
Urban rattled off a list of millions of dollars in economic development, public safety and recreational projects that he has approved during his tenure, noting that he pushed for investment beyond Wilkes-Barre.
Wyoming Valley residents are more secure because of the Susquehanna River levee-raising completed during his administration, he said, and he wants to be in office for the completion of riverfront recreation amenities.
James said he has concerns about the proposed Hazle Township cargo airport and plans to build a new county prison.
He said he’s confident he and Urban could work out solutions, though he stressed that he and Urban would remain independent thinkers.
“I assure you nothing will be rubber-stamped. We are two individuals with individual thoughts and minds,” he said.
Urban said the other three Republican contenders did not approach him about a joint run.
He said he didn’t consider Christine Katsock because he asked her at the end of January if she was running for any office, and she said no. Katsock said Wednesday that Urban asked her if she was running for Wilkes-Barre mayor.
Urban said he has some “serious reservations” about Bill Jones, another Republican contender. He pointed out that Jones’ daughter, Krista, works in the county when she’s not at college and that Jones’ brother, H. David, received a full-time job in property and supply after the county had laid off 60-some workers.
Jones, a Crestwood School Board member, had voted to reappoint Commissioner Chairman Greg Skrepenak as Crestwood’s head football coach, while Skrepenak voted to put Bill Jones on the county’s Convention Center Authority.
“It’s nothing but cronyism,” Urban said.
Jones said Wednesday that he had nothing to do with either county hiring, and he thinks it’s “pretty low” to “pick on a college kid working per diem.”
“The guy is nothing but negativity – no matter what comes out of his mouth,” Jones said.
Jones said he did not lobby to get on the convention authority and he voted for Skrepenak because he thought he was a good coach, not for favors.
“I can stand up for myself and say yes or no to anybody,” Jones said.
Urban said people should pay attention to decisions made by the other GOP contender – Dave Shipula – in his role as a Hanover Area School Board member.
Hanover Area is the smallest school district in the county but has the second-highest tax rate, Urban said. He also questioned Shipula’s vote to pay $1,700 each for nine laptops, a cost Urban said seems excessive, and the school district’s decision to settle lawsuits totaling $328,000 with families of special-education students who felt their children’s needs were not being met.
Urban said the litigation makes him question Shipula’s ability to meet the needs of the special-needs population, which constitutes a good portion of the county’s responsibilities.
Shipula said the tax-rate comparison is unfair and misleading because his school district receives less revenue per mill than many other districts. A mill is $1 tax for every $1,000 in assessed property.
Shipula said Urban should not make assumptions about the special-education situation, because many other schools are facing similar problems and Urban doesn’t know all the details involved.
The price of the laptops was the best the school district could obtain because they were purchased through a state-contracted program, Shipula said.
Shipula said he has painstakingly combed the district’s budget, looking for places to cut. “I’ve been on the board 22 years, and I always tried to do what I thought was best for the taxpayers and the district,” he said.
Urban challenged contenders to take stands on issues and divulge platforms that go beyond standard promises to cut spending and watch out for the public and taxpayers.
“Unless they say something specific, they’ve said nothing,” he said.
WHAT’S NEXT
Republicans and Democrats will get to vote on two commissioner nominees on May 15. A reminder: April 16 is the last day to register to vote.