Why I am no longer seeking election as mayor

From the beginning I have always stated that it takes a village to make things better, and that I would test the electorial waters and determine if it was a worthwhile endeavor to run for election. Part of this process was to determine if Hazleton residents and organizations would be actively engaged in wanting change and wanting new leadership, which it clearly needs. 

What I discovered as time passed was that many people stated that Mayor Jeff Cusat was ruining the city, such as Reporter Andy Mahalshick, and that the current mayor needed to be replaced by an experienced leader such as myself, none of those people were willing to get involved after their commitment to involve themselves in the process. 

Similarly, as I contacted many of the major community service organizations, as well as the key leaders of the Latino community, many reaffirmed that they wanted change but none were willing to get involved in making those changes happen. Thus after seeing the lack of enthusiasm from the majority of Hazletonians in the election process, as well as organizations such as the Hazleton Art Leaugue, the Sanctuary, Can Do Hazleton, the Luzerne County Republican Committee, and the Hazleton Chamber of Commerce (to name a few) to actively work together to affect positive changes for the common good, I had the realization that change was not desired enough. 

Given the aforementioned, I have decided not to submit my petetion to run for election. In short, seeing the lack of desire for positive change being mayor of Hazleton, PA was not a worthwhile endeavor because it is clearly evident that the community does not work together to create a better future for themselves. Further, the majority of the 65% of the Hazleton population, which are Spanish speaking and insist that things must change, either do not register to vote or will not vote in local elections. This equates to a starving person demanding food but doing nothing to feed themselves. As such, it will remain this way until Hazletonians realize that it takes all of them to work together to demand that change; and not just hope that change will happen, without putting effort into the process of that change.

As I spoke with the Democratic front runner Bob Yevak and the Independent candidate for mayor of Hazleton Cindee Delucca, who both wished me well, and voiced their hope for me to not end my bid for mayor and to defeat Jeff Cusat for the Republican nomination, (given his seven years of failed representation), they both understood my reasoning not to seek the Republican nomination for the City of Hazleton. I wish both of them the best of luck.

And as there are currently other organizations that desire a positive impact by an experienced leader I will be continuing to work closely with them.