Latest News — February 16, 2010 15:41 — 67 Comments
Leighton Announcement Speech
Good evening ladies and gentleman, Wilkes-Barre City Council, local elected officials, members of the press and the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Thank you for coming.
Before I begin, I would like to thank my family. I would not be standing where I am today without their love and support. My wife, Patty, my daughters, Kelly Lynn and Courtney, my son, Tom Jr., my mother, Nancy Leighton, and my brother Patrick, who is here with me today. Throughout my career of public service, they have made sacrifices as well and I am indebted to them for that.
Most importantly, I would like to thank the people of the City of Wilkes-Barre.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve you these past 18 years, especially the last 6 years as your mayor. With the trust you placed in me, we overcame many challenges together and have restored this great city to its rightful place as a city we can be proud to call home.
I have devoted the majority of my life and career to serving my hometown and I have never been prouder of this city and its citizens.
Not too long ago, Wilkes-Barre was written off as a city in decline, thought never to return to its former prominence. But with strong commitment and vision from community and political leaders, local business owners, and the people of Wilkes-Barre, our city is on the road to recovery.
As I drive through the city today, I see houses built where abandoned properties once stood. I see public parks used by young families not drug dealers. I see nationally recognized businesses locating downtown. I see tourists returning to Wilkes-Barre.
We dreamt of a future where families felt safe in their neighborhoods and downtown, where neighborhoods overcame blighted properties and saw a rebirth of housing development, where fiscal sanity allowed the city to invest in its own development, where new businesses chose to start up downtown creating new jobs and economic opportunity, where residents did not desert the downtown once night fell, and where our best and brightest talent did not yearn to escape the city forever.
Barnes & Noble, Movie Theater, Coal St. Park, Intermodal, Streetlights, Gateway Corners, Elevations Lofts, Riverfront.
We believed together and today the dream is a reality!
We have rescued this city from the pessimism which for so long hindered its economic rebirth. We have reversed the fiscal irresponsibility that smothered Wilkes-Barre’s needed recovery. We restored the public’s faith that a functioning, responsible, and ethical government that served the voter’s interests was not an idealistic fantasy but a solid reality.
At a time when taxpayers are frustrated by government gridlock and paralysis, I have proven that I can get things done. I have delivered results in Wilkes-Barre.
And so, with my record of achievement and dedication to public service, with an eye towards the future and what can be accomplished, I announce my candidacy for state senator in the 14th District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
I seek this office to help restore faith in good government to the honorable people of NEPA.
I want to broaden my focus and responsibility.
I want to revitalize Pittston, Nanticoke, Hazleton, Plymouth, Wyoming, Yatesville, Banks Township, and Pocono Township, and the entire district in the way that Wilkes-Barre has been.
My first priority will be to help create jobs for working-class families. Well-paying and sustainable jobs in manufacturing, construction, green energy and high tech fields, not only service sector jobs.
That will require a thorough review of the business tax structure of the Commonwealth. Businesses, especially small businesses look to the state for a fair, competitive and level playing field to attract jobs. I want to help create that market.
I want to see better schools for every student, improved roads and infrastructure investment, and affordable health care for all our citizens, particularly our children.
I want protect our seniors as well and see that vital services like renters assistance and public transportation are maintained. And we must tackle property tax relief.
We simply must continue to reduce property taxes. They’ve been reduced slightly under Gov. Rendell, but more must be done. Lawmakers must give this issue their undivided attention immediately. The taxpayers demand it.
In the campaign ahead, I will define my plans to address these issues in more detail but I wanted to outline some of my priorities tonight.
As many Pennsylvanians were, I was angered and frustrated by the 101 day state budget impasse last year. In these tough economic times, cities require every bit of funding available to us which often is supplied by the state government. As mayor, I personally saw how the failure to reach a compromise agreement hurt cities like Wilkes-Barre.
The call to service has defined my life and career. Before I ever ran for public office, I volunteered in the community. I was a member of many community based organizations diverse in responsibility but singular in their commitment to improve the community around them.
I was a legislator for 12 years as a member of Wilkes-Barre City Council.
As mayor for the past six years, I have built a broad coalition of private and public partnerships to foster the economic growth and revitalization which the City of Wilkes-Barre so desperately needed.
I forged support between a variety of competing organizations behind the singular goal of rebuilding this community and I have championed innovative sources of funding for development projects which has made the City of Wilkes-Barre a pioneering American city.
Send me to Harrisburg and I will build upon that legislative foundation and all of my executive experience to aid the entire 14th district.
People should expect leadership and ethical competency from their representatives and senators at every level of government and that is what the people can expect from me in the state senate.
I have never shied away from making tough decisions nor neglected to tackle the challenges confronting our community and so it will be in Harrisburg.
I have always crossed partisan lines to benefit the entire community and I promise to continue to reach across the aisle and forge the same partnerships in Harrisburg which have produced results in Wilkes-Barre.
I am running to serve the entire 14th district not only the Democrats of the 14th. Regardless of party, you will find an open door to my office.
I pledge here tonight to act in the best interests of the entire district. I will not promise that you will always agree with my votes or policy proposals but I will promise that they will be votes guided by principle.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” I am honored to have answered that call throughout my life.
Senator Ray Musto also answered that call of a lifetime of service. He is a public servant of impeccable character who has graced his office with integrity and served the people of his district with distinction. I hope to live up to the precedent he has established.
The changing of the guard is inevitable and now the time comes for new leadership to pick up the standard and carry the will of the people to Harrisburg. I humbly ask you to send me on that journey. Vote for me on May 18th and together our community and our district will continue to be a shining example of what can be
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achieved!
Thank you very much and goodnight.
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