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Hazleton woman charged with setting fire to home with sleeping children inside

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St. Jude students examine Papal Coat of Arms

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It was the first political forum/debate where the questions provided more details than the answers.</p><p>At Wednesday night&#8217;s Wilkes-Barre Mayoral Forum, sponsored by the Times Leader and King&#8217;s College, candidates Frank Sorick, the Republican, and Tony George, the Democrat, disappointed a crowd of more than 200 interested people by not offering much in their responses.</p><p>Their answers were so succinct and lacking in detail that many of the more than 200 attending left hoping incumbent three-term Mayor Tom Leighton would mount a write-in campaign.</p><p>Leighton was at the forum with his wife, Patty. I asked him Thursday if he would consider conducting a write-in campaign to try to retain the office.</p><p>&#8220;Not at this time,&#8221; he said, &#8220;but I have received several calls from residents asking me to conduct a write-in campaign. Based on the number of calls I&#8217;ve received, even going back to the primary, I&#8217;d have to give this serious consideration and, of course, I&#8217;d have to discuss it with my family before making a decision.&#8221;</p><p>That sounds like a definite maybe.</p><p>Would Leighton have any chance at all to win on a write-in campaign if he decided to try it?</p><p>Write-in candidates have won in the past, but not often. The point is it could happen. The question is could it happen in Wilkes-Barre?</p><p>It seems nearly impossible, but when you factor in the two nominated candidates from the respective political parties and the lack of appeal of either with the electorate, the write-in door opens a little bit more.</p><p>Even with an incumbent like Leighton, who has had more than his fair share of critics, winning a fourth term would seem highly unlikely. But let&#8217;s wait until we see what the response will be to the mere suggestion.</p><p><strong>Thin answers</strong></p><p>Neither Sorick nor George sparkled at the forum. Neither offered a convincing argument as to why either should be the city&#8217;s next mayor. In fact neither exceeded their allotted time to answer any of the well-constructed questions.</p><p>Succinctly put, the voters/taxpayers/residents of Wilkes-Barre have a difficult choice come Nov. 3.</p><p>Yes, both candidates have websites that provide information about each and how they feel about issues. But a forum/debate offers voters the opportunity to see the candidates and evaluate their reactions to questions and to hear them expound on their ideas or solutions for a city in economic peril and rife with violent crime.</p><p>This is an extremely important election. It marks the end of the Tom Leighton era. Like Leighton or not, you can&#8217;t dispute the way the city looks today as compared to 2004 when he took office.</p><p>The city, especially the downtown, is much improved. Yet there is much work to be done.</p><p>Vacant parcels dot the city&#8217;s landscape. We are waiting to hear some &#8220;very big news&#8221; on the first block of South Main Street. We anxiously await a development plan for the vacant Hotel Sterling site. We nervously wonder if the city will continue to take down beautiful, albeit deteriorating, historical buildings.</p><p>And we wonder when, if ever, the city will eradicate the drug culture that has permeated nearly every neighborhood. Will there be a serious effort to crack down on these criminals? Can we stop them from moving into those absentee-owner buildings? Is it realistic to think that city city can be safe again?</p><p>Will there be more businesses locating downtown? And will that bring more residents? Can the city reduce its debt? Can it come up with a plan to address the pension crisis?</p><p>I was at the mayoral forum and I didn&#8217;t hear any substantive solutions to any of these issues/problems. I also sat in on the opinion board meetings with each candidate. Again I came away wondering what, exactly, either would do to move the city forward.</p><p><strong>Can they lead?</strong></p><p>I&#8217;m certain both Sorick and George want to do that. I&#8217;m just not sure if either of them can.</p><p>That is not an indictment of either candidate. It&#8217;s more a statement of the way it is. In this city of 40,000 residents, Sorick and George are the two candidates a limited electorate has selected.</p><p>And come Nov. 3, one of these two will occupy that office on the fourth floor of City Hall.</p><p>Or will they?</p><p>After the forum, several people expressed displeasure with the two candidates. Several said they hoped Leighton would mount a write-in campaign to retain the office.</p><p>The fact that we are talking about the possibility of a Leighton write-in campaign tells us that some people are not comfortable voting for Sorick or George. I realize that there were just over 200 people at the Mayoral Forum, hardly a scientific sampling of voter sentiment.</p><p>Sorick and George have not positioned themselves as clear favorites with any majority in the city. They had an opportunity to show voters and the media just how capable they are and they could have convinced at least most of the attendees that they are deserving of their votes.</p><p>But they didn&#8217;t. Instead they gave vague answers to specific questions. They were asked to explain how they would lead the city to a better day. They chose to answer all too briefly, agreeing on most of the simple responses each gave.</p><p>That&#8217;s not the way to convince anybody that you should be the next mayor.</p><p>Leaving many voters pining for a continuance of what we&#8217;ve had for 12 years is not a good campaign strategy.</p><p><em>Write</em> or wrong.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/election-logo-20152.pdf">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/election-logo-20152.pdf</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_OBoyle_Columnshot-1-14.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_OBoyle_Columnshot-1-14.jpg</photo1><caption1>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_candidateforum012.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Leighton </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_candidateforum012.jpg</photo2><caption2>Leighton </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102315infocusMayor2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre City mayoral hopefuls Frank Sorick and Tony George answer questions Wednesday evening at King&#8217;s College. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102315infocusMayor2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wilkes-Barre City mayoral hopefuls Frank Sorick and Tony George answer questions Wednesday evening at King&#8217;s College. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Candidates&#8217; lackluster performance have some asking for current mayor to run</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

In Focus: Can Tom Leighton mount a write-in campaign to stay on as Wilkes-Barre mayor?