web1_TTL080615Spice.jpg

Recent surge in number of ‘spice’ overdoses in Wilkes-Barre has police chief concerned

web1_anniesheadshots-2-.jpg

Annie’s Mailbox: Click it or ticket

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Voters will have another choice for two city posts in the upcoming general election, with Linda Urban announcing her candidacy as an Independent candidate for controller and council.</p><p>Urban, 63, of the Parsons section, will face Democrat Darren Snyder in the controller&#8217;s race and Bill Barrett, also a Democrat, for the District D council seat in the Nov. 3 general election.</p><p>If elected controller, Urban said she would work full time and provide taxpayers an open, honest and ethical government.</p><p>&#8220;I know I can handle this job very well. I&#8217;m very well versed in government,&#8221; she said.</p><p>As for the council seat, Urban said, &#8220;I will do my very best there as well.&#8221;</p><p>Neither she nor her family is a stranger to politics. She ran for mayor and city council. Her husband, Luzerne County Council member Stephen A. Urban, finished third in the May 19 primary as a Democrat in the city controller&#8217;s race. Her stepson, Stephen J. Urban who also is a county council member, won the primary as a Republican for the District C city council seat and will face Democrat Beth Gilbert.</p><p>If she wins both posts, Urban said she would become controller and a committee would be put together to fill the council seat.</p><p>Urban, who is retired, does not have an accounting or financial background. A mother and grandmother, Urban said she is a graduate of Luzerne County Community College, attended the State University of New York and is a founding member of the Wilkes-Barre City Taxpayers Association. She said she has built and renovated houses and is a landlord and those experiences give her the skills to do the controller&#8217;s job.</p><p>If elected, she plans to be hands-on reviewing bills, payrolls and contracts and will attend all city council meetings in the event a taxpayer has a question about the controller&#8217;s office.</p><p>&#8220;I want to see everything, &#8221; she said, adding that income and expenses will be scrutinized.</p><p>She advocates establishing separate accounts for every fee paid to the city and promises to be available to taxpayers and the media.</p><p>&#8220;I will have a financial report prepared at the end of every year for mayor and council,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Urban&#8217;s election as a controller would be a plus for the city, she said. This year&#8217;s city budget listed the controller as the lowest paid position in the department with an annual salary of $48,150. The deputy controller was budgeted at $69,677 and an auditor/computer clerk at $51,817.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Linda-Urban1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Linda Urban </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Linda-Urban1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Linda Urban </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Independent files for two spots in Wilkes-Barre in upcoming general election