| Ed Mitchell The April 9 special election to replace U.S. Rep. Dan Flood in the 11th Congressional District is only about two weeks away and many Back Mountain voters have yet to get a clear grasp of which can- interests. In a survey attempt within the past two weeks, newspaper representatives found most persons contacted could not name the nominee of their preferred party and many could not name a single candidate for the congressional seat. 6 four candidacies appear to He any substantial support in the Back Mountain area, including those af. Nanticoke’s Paul Kan- jorski,! Wilkes-Barre’s Frank Harrison, Kingston's Richard Adams, and Forty Fort resident Jim Nelligan. The first three, all independent Democrats, show surprising strength in the traditionally Republican Back Mountain area while Nelligan, the endorsed choice of the generally unsuccessful county + GOP organization, only recently became a public figure in the area. ; Rafael Musto, Pittston, is the endorsed preference of the county Democrat organization and has served in the state legislature as a representative since 1971. Musto has announced plans for a Back Mountain rally this week at the Farmer's Inn in Jackson Township. Be other candidates on the April 9tig ballot include Robert Hudock, tH®Republican from Hazleton who was defeated by Flood in the 1978 election and who was narrowly denied the county GOP en- dorsement, and Edward Mitchell, a White Haven native and recent resident of Kingston, who un- successfully opposed Republican Joseph McDade in the adjoining congressional district in his last congressional contest. Mitchell launched his campaign with a strong media effort and is generally conceded to be the most liberal politically of the seven. His campaign momentum appears to have ebbed somewhat despite in- fusions of money from at least one prominent liberal campaign sup- port group in Washington, D.C. Adams and Kanjorski appear to be making the most of campaign opportunities at the present time, both with strong media efforts and with an appeal to independents ana Republicans as well as their Democrat supporters. Considerable Back Mountain sentiment appears to be favoring these men at the present time. Harrison also is expected to receive some local GOP votes due to his high profile in Wilkes-Barre area civic and professional ac- tivities and also due to his affiliation in a law firm with Harold Rosenn, well-known Republican leader with close’ ties to Pennsylvania Gov. Richard Thornburg. Harrison is a Kennedy backer on the national political scene, a point not necessarily shared by some of the other Democrat contenders. Hudock’s tentative approach to this campaign and the denial of party backing for his candidacy have left Nelligan as the heir ap- parent for straight ticket Republicans. Hudock withdrew publicly from the April 9th race, reserving the right to rejoin the primary April 22. ld Whether Nelligan’s support will override his Johnny-come-lately flavor is uncertain at this point. But Nelligan is media-genic, appears to have strong ties in Washington, and could be the beneficiary |if Republicans tend to hang together in a seven-horse race. The man to beat in the April 9 event, especially if the voter tur- nout is low, is Musto, the choice of the party that runs the county voting apparatus. With 75 percent of the district vote concentrated in Luzerne County, and with the election aparatus firmly in control of the Democrats, he is the man to beat April 9. Political sources presently view the race as too close to call. Kan- jorski, Nelligan, and perhaps Adams and Harrison have a chance to take the victory. And then, watch out for the April 22 primary for the same seat...what can you do for an encore? RICHARD .P. ADAMS, 36, Democrat, resides at 150 Butler St., Kingston. He is married and has three children. Adams is a graduate of Girard College, holds an A.B. in Sociology from King’s College, and a masters in social work from Marywood College. A district justice since 1972, he is secretary, full-partner and co- partner of Standard Acoustical Products of Wilkes-Barre, Inc. He said he views as his main objective, the economic revitalization of the region through industrial tax incentives! and restructuring the fragmented in- dustrial development groups in the district. ; FRANK HARRISON, 40, Democrat, resides at 2 fving Place, Wilkes-Barre. He is a bachelor. Sen. © Raphael Musto He is a graduate of King’s College and Harvard Law School. He has been practicing law since 1965 except for three years Air Force Service. For Korean duty, he was awarded the Air Force Com- mendations Medal. He was the first president of GRIT, a non-profit organization which sponsored the first post-flood recovery project in Wilkes-Barre, the 14-story Washington Square apartment building for the elderly. He is chairman of the Downtown Development Authority in Wilkes- Barre. Robert P. Hudock ROBERT P. HUDOCK, 41, Republican, resides at 12 Hunter Road, Hazleton. He is married and has three daughters. He holds two bachelor and a masters degree from Massachusetts Technology where he studies areospace engineering; holds a law degree from Georgetown University, and maintains law offices in Hazleton and Washington, D.C. Hudock who ran relatively well against Flood in 1978, is a con- tributing editor of Astronautics & Aeronautics magazine and has published over 300 articles analyzing federal policy and budgeting for defense, space, energy, transportation, research and development. He identifies the problems of the district as high unemployment, rampant inflation and government bureaucracy. He said he advocates only federal programs which will help private industry and small business help themselves to be more effective-such as tax in- centives and seed money for new industry. Atty. Paul Kanjorski PAUL E. |[KANJORSKI, 42, Democrat, resides at 103 S. Hanover St., | Nanticoke. He is married and has one daughter. A practicing attorney since 1966, he attended Temple University and Dickinson School of Law. He served for eight yearns as a Workmen's Compensation referee. He is solicitor for the City of Nanticoke and the 1980 Crusade Chairman for the Wyoming Valley Cancer Society unit. A volunteer attorney for the Flood Victims Action Committee, Kan- jorski said he helped bring $50 million in federal funds to nor- theastern Pennsylvania, primarily through activities of his law firm. ED MITCHELL, 32, Democrat, resides at 313 Dean Court, Kingston. He is a bachelor. Mitchell holds a B.A. in political science from [the University of Scranton and pursued a master’s degree at Georgetown University. He served as press secretary to Gov. Milton Shapp. Since 1977, he has served as ¢hief of staff to U.S. Representative Peter Kostmayer of Pennsylvania. Previously he served on the staffs of two other i i } ABO Richard Adams congressmen, including Flood. Mitchell said he has gone on record in favor of a partial rollback and temporary freeze on prices, profits, dividends, wages, interest rates and rentals; recontrol of oil, heating fuels, natural gas and gasoline controld, national health insurance and tough health care containment laws; tax credits and incentives for capital formation to aid industry and business. Mitchell unsuccessfully opposed U.S. ' Representative Joseph McDade for a congressional seat in an adjoining district in a recent election. RAPHAEL MUSTO, 50, Democrat, resides at 160 Market St., Pittston. He is married and has four children. He holds a B.S. degree in ac- counting from King’s College. Musto has served in the state House of Representatives since 1971. He has been a leader in legislation to aid volunteer firemen and ambulance personnel. He has supported legislation to reform state business taxes so that by 1983, businesses will no longer have to pay 90 percent of the tax in ad- vance. Musto has been a strong f PAGE THREE supporter of rent and property tax rebates to low-income elderly residents. Musto is a master of the select committee to probe hazardous waste dumping which seeps into the Susquehanna River and is a member of the Mines and Energy Management Committee and the State Environmental Quality Board. JAMES L. NELLIGAN, 51, Republican, resides at 69 Bidlack St., Forty Fort. He is married and. has one son. He holds a B.S. in accounting from King’s College. Nelligan has been employed more than 28 years in Washington, in- cluding the General Accounting Office and as a staff member of several key committees including the Interstate and Foreign Com- merce Committee of the House. His government service assignments included postings to numerous countries in Europe, Asia and South America. The candidate claims his federal experience gives him the ‘know- how’ to pass legislation that will help the district and to block legislation that will hurt it. i i ART EXHIBIT--Anthony Cecconi, Tunkhannock, is shown with one of the many paintings he exhibited at the Dallas Rotary Turkey Dinner. The Susquehanna Environmental Advocates (SEA) will sponsor a vigil on Public Square in Wilkes- Barre on Friday, March 28, from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. to commemorate the accident at Three Mile Island, which began at 4 a.m., March 28, 1979. The vigil is intended to remind people in the Wyoming Valley that “the accident is not over yet”, a spokesman noted. SEA will have candles burning throughout the day, will provide information to the public, and will have banners on the square. “We want 'to remind people of TMI, especially since PP&L is going ahead with the construction of the Berwick plant, less than 20 miles downwind from Wilkes- Barre,” said Gerald R. Schultz, the Dallas attorney who is spokesman for SEA. ‘The people in Harrisburg lived with fear and terror during the accident - and ‘are still livng with fear. MedEd wants to vent radioactive gas into the atmosphere with no regard to the health -and safety of the people. MetEd does not know what to do with the massive amounts of radiation in the con- tainment vessel. College Misericordia President Dr. Joseph R. Fink has announced plans to open a new dormitory facility at the college to ac- commpdate resident students next fall. . Accarding to the announcement, Misericordia’s resident student population has been increasing dramatically to the point where all facilities are currently filled to capacity! Anticipating further increases next September, ad- ditional dormitory space was required. The college will use a wing of Mercy Center for student housing. The wing was used once before as a dormitory as was known then as Fatima Hall. The wing can house some 50 students, is adjacent to all campus facilities, and is com- fortably arranged, comparable to current student residences at Misericordia. The college also plans to use some of its off-campus housing on Lake Street in Dallas. Next year’s seniors will have first choice for the private housing. ; The utilization of the Mercy Center wing and the Lake Street housing will enable College | | { a pz a ness Ly Misericordia to meet the hofising demands of its students efficiently, Dr. Fink said, and without the cost of constructing another dormitory. The move to on-campus living is a national student trend, Dr. Fink commuting . costs connected with, higher gasoline prices. It also appears to be indicative of a desire of students to return to the college as a campus, a self-contained, academic entity, he indicated. College Misericordia currently has dormitory facilities for 424 students. The addition of the Mercy Center wing and the Lake Street houses will increase that capability by some 70 students. College Misericordia experienced its highest enrollment in fiver years last September, Dr. Fink said, and is looking forward to a significant increase for next fall. The president attributed the growth to the college’s aggressive pursuit of more competitive academic programs, increased student services and facilities, and the implementation of sound
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers