Former Mayor Sal Panto Officially Announces Candidacy for Mayor

SAL PANTO FOR MAYOR COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 1395
Easton, PA 18042
www.salpantoformayor.com

Campaign Kick-off Remarks
Ringside Restaurant
March 1, 2007

Thank you Randy.

A special thank you to my lovely wife Pam, who has made all of us proud of her work on City Council. I also want to thank my children, my grand children and family members, especially my mother who couldn’t be here this evening but we are taping it for her to watch later. Hi mom, we love you.

I would also like to thank my employer, Gary Strausser, who is allowing me this opportunity.

Tonight is not about Sal Panto.
Tonight is not about resting on past accomplishments.
Tonight is not about who drops the most literature and puts up the most signs.
Tonight is about the City of Easton and the 27,000 people who live here.
Tonight is about our neighborhoods.
Tonight is about developing the whole town not just the downtown.
Tonight is about the biggest issue important to our citizens: vibrant neighborhoods that are safe and clean.
Tonight is about whom do you want providing leadership not only on a day-to-day basis but also in times of crisis.
Tonight is about identifying and supporting a person that has proven leadership and managerial strength.
Tonight is about identifying and supporting a person that can attract an effective staff, a person that will surround himself with good people and continually challenge them to do better.
Tonight is about endorsing a person who makes good decisions and is willing to spend the enormous amount of time necessary to be an effective Mayor.

Tonight I am here to ask for your support and assistance to be the next Mayor of our city. Many people have asked why I am running and who our opponents would be in this race. I am running for Mayor to help make people’s lives and the neighborhoods in our city better. The fact is that regardless of whom we are running against, our team will be running for the issues near and dear to all of our residents and not against someone. We will be running for neighborhoods that people can be proud to call home, for neighborhoods that are safe and clean, for ensuring that police officers are visible in all parts of town, with no neighborhood left behind.

Easton needs a clean, crime-free, and safe environment that provides effective and efficient services providing a higher quality of life for our residents. We will accomplish this by being a very inclusive administration that brings to the table people from all parts of the city, with a diversity that allows all residents to be represented. We will set attainable goals and develop a plan of action for each goal. We will identify a series of milestones to keep us on track to meet the vision in a reasonable frame of time."

As I travel through our city and talk with people it is the one constant - safety. We will make a safe city our top priority. Our objective is to reduce crime by 15% in the first two years and nuisance crimes by 20%. We will do this by manning our police and fire departments at the level required to accomplish our goal. We will give them the technology and tools not only to fight crime and fire but also to prevent crimes and fires. Effective community policing and code enforcement will help us become more proactive than reactive.

Clean neighborhoods restore pride to an area. Clean neighborhoods create safer neighborhoods. We can no longer tolerate vacant structures that house our gangs and drug dealers. Our objective will be to decrease the number of unsecured vacant properties in each neighborhood by 10% within the first year. We will accomplish this objective with the introduction of our “Clean It and Lien It” program. When the Code department is no longer effective in getting the owner to clean and secure their property and before it gets so bad that it goes before the Vacant Property Review panel we will secure and clean the property. We will then place a lien against the property and act on the lien. If the property is purchased by the city we will look to the private sector for qualified developers to purchase the property and proceeds from the sale of the property will be used to continue the program, a re-investment in our neighborhoods.

To further assure clean neighborhoods by the second year we will launch our “Triple B” – a block-by-block systematic code inspection of the entire city with the worst blocks identified through quarterly neighborhood meetings.

Another goal will be to make our city government better every day. This will be accomplished by:

-Determining a customer service baseline and improving our customer service rating every year.
-Making our city government a model of open, honest, ethical and fiscally responsible government.
-Constantly seeking community input and energizing people to participate in their local government.
-We will always strive to do more with less and hold each department accountable for its performance.
-Surrounding ourselves with the best people and challenge them to do better each and every day.
-Establishing neighborhood-based Mayor office hours to make it easier for residents to voice their opinions, give insight into neighborhood concerns, address problem areas and get people involved in city government.

A final goal I will announce tonight is improve our intergovernmental relationships with surrounding communities and have Easton recognized as an asset for the region. We will work cooperatively to establish partnerships to produce an economy of scale savings in providing services to our residents. On the county, state and federal level we will actively engage in pursuing financial participation in the form of grants with a goal of $500,000 per year.

Throughout this campaign we will continue to establish our goals based on conversations with our residents. We will establish goals for all areas of city management including community development, economic development, youth and recreational activities, financial stability and a long-term vision of what Easton can become.

Today Easton is at a precarious crossroad. Great opportunities are being overshadowed by difficult problems in all areas of service. I know what this city is, I know what this city has been, and I know what it can become. That is why tonight I offer my candidacy for Mayor. I believe I have a lifetime of experience that counts. Experience I will put to work for you.

Thank you.

Gary Bertsch Announces for Mayor

“Time’s Up: We Need Lasting Positive Changes”

A New Image for Easton

We sell ourselves short with our image. People coming to the City, and those who live here and pay taxes, see empty buildings, both commercial and residential, that often give indications that the City or people don’t care and are satisfied with being mediocre. That is just not us!

I have seen the negative effect one blighted property can have on a block. Too often poor conditions are not only unsafe, but hamper communication and a feeling of neighborhood among residents. Small improvements matter: Trees can be added and sidewalks, parks and playgrounds – even overcrowded alleyways can be cleaned up for positive effect in a neighborhood.

Revenues, Waste & Taxes

Our taxes are outrageous and only keep rising because of the gap between revenues and spending. The City needs to recruit revenue generators including businesses and new residents. We must build a business friendly environment and use creative incentives for people to attain home ownership. We have $1.6 million of uncollected fees owed to us while we scramble for extra quarters from parking meters to cover shortfalls. If these amounts owed to the people of Easton are not paid the properties must have liens placed upon them or face seizure.

Every member of Council, not just the Mayor, must encourage revenue generators to come to Easton. We can align regionally with other communities to promote the region and attract businesses and economic development.

City of Easton spending is out of line with similar communities. Stopping wasteful spending begins with an end to mismanagement of resources. It includes streamlining and/or merging departments, upgrading information systems so that all departments work together efficiently, and getting better value from our extensive legal representation. Ending waste means finding a solution to the overtime crisis and staffing departments at the most efficient levels. The City cannot afford a lack top to bottom efficiency.

Housing

Improved housing stock means encouraging single-family owner occupation and getting vacant properties filled, cleaned up, and back on the tax rolls. A positive initiative is this Spring’s affordable housing tour of Easton and Phillipsburg, a private/public partnership to market homes for sale under $200,000.

We need to be a clean, pedestrian friendly City without prostitution, drugs, noise and other quality of life problems. These are not easy goals, but everyone in the administration, city council, and departments must be committed to it. Housing improves when investments are made.

The police department must work in a coordinated, comprehensive fashion with the residents of each neighborhood, Weed & Seed, and Block Watch to implement Neighborhood Policing. Easton’s image must be one of clean, safe, and a pleasure to live and work in.

Youth & Social Issues

Our biggest asset is our human talent and its potential, but we are being underserved.

Our youth need more attention. They need incentives to pursue more education and acquire skills they need for the work force and to steer clear of the traps of crime and drugs that are killing so many of our young people. We need to inspire and motivate them. As a recruiter that was my job. It still is and probably will always be.

We have seen where collaboration works. Various public, private, and faith-based organizations are working together for the first time in a spirit of partnership. As Mayor, I will encourage our residents, in every neighborhood, to be role models by assuming community leadership positions.

On the other side, our youth who are educated leave for greener pastures of jobs and housing creating a void in the most important area of not only our economy, but our community as well.

Gary D. Bertsch

Butler Street
Easton, Pennsylvania

Age 59

B.S. Political Science & History; Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD

M.S. History (emphasis Latin America); New York University, NY, NY

Presently serve as the Program Manager of the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership (Also Easton’s “Elm Street” Project)

Community Activist; Member of Block Watch and Weed & Seed; Member of NAACP, Arts Community of Easton (ACE), President of Riverside Festival of the Arts, Secretary and Treasurer of the Easton Redevelopment Authority (ERA), Promoter for Boy Scouts of America

Former Captain in the United States Marine Corps

Member of U.S. & Marine Corps Track Team Qualified to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials (Marathon)

Hired by Ross Perot as a Corporate Recruiter (Worked on Wall Street)

Former Secondary School Educator and Administrator (North Hunterdon School District, Annandale, NJ)

Started and Operated a Successful Business for 15 Years Within the Healthcare Industry

Former General Manager & presently a Partner in a 38-acre industrial site (Former Taylor Wharton Foundry, site of the longest continuous operating industrial operation in North America)

Residential Owner/Property Manager in Easton

Jeff Warren Announced (sorry we're late) Council Candidacy

WARREN ANNOUNCES HIS INTENTION TO SEEK SEAT ON EASTON CITY COUNCIL

EASTON (Jan. 9) – Jeff Warren, resident of the City of Easton, announced today that he will be seeking a seat on Easton City Council during the upcoming 2007 election cycle.

The Democratic candidate and Chief Legislative Assistant for Senator Lisa M. Boscola looks forward to running a positive and issue-oriented campaign. If elected to City Council, Warren will work hard to reduce crime, promote fiscal responsibility, enhance Easton’s economic climate, and make government more open and accessible to the public.

Aside from his employment at Boscola’s office Warren currently serves on the following boards within the Easton community:

· Easton Zoning Hearing Board
· Boys & Girls Club of Easton – Board Member
· Communities In Schools of the Lehigh Valley – Board Member

Warren is a lifelong resident of the Easton area. He graduated from Easton Area High School in 1995 and from Penn State University in 1999.

El Warner Announces City Council Candidacy

WARNER TO SEEK EASTON CITY COUNCIL SEAT


Elinor Warner announced today that she is running for one of three seats on Easton City Council. Warner, a Democrat, currently serves on the Easton Charter Study Commission, to which she was elected in May 2006. This will be her first run for City Council.

“The next few years will be crucial ones for our city, financially, culturally, and socially,” Warner states. “It’s important that we think about the future we desire for our city, and that we elect legislators who can move us toward that future. I am running for City Council because I believe I have the skills and the vision to move us toward that future while serving our present interests.”

A 1981 graduate of Easton Area High School, Warner graduated Magna Cum Laude from Sweet Briar College in 1985 and has a Master’s and PhD from the University of Virginia. She has a long history of community involvement. She served as Chair of the EHA House Tour in 1997, 1998, 2005 and 2006; has been involved with Easton’s Main Street Initiative since its inception, currently serving as the Chair of the Organization Committee and a member of the Main Street Advisory Board; and is a member of the Board of the Easton Business Association. She is the editor and publisher of The Elucidator, a free local publication.

“Easton has given me a great deal – a sense of place, a sense of community, a sense of home. I think it’s important to give back and to work together toward making this the city that we all know it can be,” states Warner. “We need effective ordinances, we need positive leadership, we need a municipal government that functions smoothly. We need neighborhoods that are clean and safe, for us and for our children. I want to work with the administration toward those goals.”

*This is her official release. EU did not conduct the interview. --HoC

Electoral Press Conference

On Friday February 9, 2007 11am I will be holding a press conference at Easton Area Community Center 9th and Washington Streets Easton. I plan to announce my intention to run for Easton City Council. It would be my honor to have your presence at this conference.
Thank You
Nadine

*Nadine Loane is the coordinator of Easton’s Weed and Seed program

Press Release (Mayoral Candidate)

Michael P. Fleck
922 Butler St.
Easton, PA 18042
Phone (610) 438-5424
Fax (610) 438-5425

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

10 A.M. EDT, February 2nd 2007
Fleck To Make Election Announcement

Michael P. Fleck will be holding a press conference on Tuesday, February 6th 2007 to announce his intentions in the upcoming mayoral election in the City of Easton. The event will be held at 1121 Lehigh St. in Easton, which is the home Mr. Fleck grew up in and will soon be renovating and moving back into to start his family. The press conference will be held at 1:45pm.

You are all invited to hear Fleck’s ideas for the future of Easton and his role in securing that future. Mr. Fleck will discuss his experience including his work with Allentown Mayor, Ed Pawlowski and PA Governor, Ed Rendell. Fleck will also discuss the importance of young experienced energetic leadership for the future of Easton. Mr. Fleck will answer some questions from the media at this event.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Mr. Fleck hopes to see you on Tuesday.

Contact: Spike Rogan

Phone: (610) 438-5424