The two candidates for mayor of Dickson City sound fairly similar on the main issues facing the borough.
"We need leadership," said Stanley Prushinski, a two-term councilman who is seeking the Democratic mayoral nomination. "The mayor is the representative of Dickson City, the spokesman for Dickson City."
Political newcomer Kimberlee Midura said the mayor's position in a strong-council form of government still is important.
"You have to have a sense of duty," Ms. Midura said. "I have never shied away from being there for anybody."
The two Democrats will face off in the May 21 primary to succeed Mayor Anthony Zaleski, who decided not to seek a third term. There are no Republican candidates.
Ms. Midura said absentee landlords continue to be a source of problems in Dickson City. The borough last fall filed civil suits against the owners of three nuisance residences.
"I would like to work with council and our legal counsel here in town to impose fines on the landlords," she said. "A lot of our landlords are from out of town. They have to be more responsible."
Mr. Prushinski, though, said council has toughened rules on landlords and is stricter about enforcement of property-related issues.
"We have been on that," he said.
Another main issue is police staffing. The borough has just five full-time officers and 15 part-time officers, Mr. Prushinski said.
Ms. Midura said she supports hiring more full-time officers and said they would be more responsive to the borough than part-time help.
Mr. Prushinski said the many part-time officers present issues for the borough, but he is cautious about adding to the full-time force.
"It's very expensive, but it's a possibility," he said. "We do need some renovation in that department."
Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com
Candidates:
Stanley J. Prushinski
Age: 69
Family: Wife, Geraldine; children, Mark and Scott
Employment: Owner of Stan's Automotive
Municipality: Dickson City
Experience: Two terms on borough council
Top issue: Working with the police chief and department
Kimberlee Midura
Age: 48
Family: daughter, Alyssa Napora
Employment: Implementation consultant at Cigna Corp., Moosic
Municipality: Dickson City
Experience: No prior government experience
Top issue: Hiring more full-time police officers