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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
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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
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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
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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