Halloween Parade in Parsons

Elderly Larksville man sentenced to prison for molesting 6-year-old

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; As they campaigned for city controller Darren Snyder and Linda Urban found out residents longed for new faces and ideas.</p><p>Neither has held elected office before, a factor they said will work in their favor in the general election Tuesday as Snyder, a Democrat, and Urban, an Independent, vie for the office. The winner will replace Kathy Kane, who chose not to run for a second term for the position that pays $49,595 a year.</p><p>Snyder, 39, a licensed real estate broker and Urban, 63, one of the founders of the Wilkes-Barre City Taxpayers Association, shared common goals of improving the city and watching how taxpayers&#8217; money is spent.</p><p>&#8220;I want to do what I can to help the city and bring the city into the future,&#8221; Snyder said.</p><p>He said his education, a bachelor&#8217;s in economics from King&#8217;s College, and experience in community services and as president of the family business, Marilyn K. Snyder Real Estate Inc., best suit him for controller who&#8217;s responsible for overseeing the city&#8217;s spending.</p><p>New to politics, Snyder said his campaign has been eye opening and motivating to make the city a better place.</p><p>&#8220;Residents of the city, they&#8217;re very pessimistic on the future,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Their complaints identified areas of neglect, such as potholes on city streets, and issues of urban decay and crime.&#8221;</p><p>Although the controller&#8217;s responsibilities are limited, Snyder said the position still wields power over the spending for programs and services that affect the daily lives of the citizens.</p><p>From what he&#8217;s seen and heard, &#8220;voters in Wilkes-Barre are ready for new ideas in taking the city in a new direction,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Urban held the position in high regard.</p><p>&#8220;For far too long the city controller has been under the radar. Why is this happening? Next to the mayor this is probably the most important elected seat in City Hall,&#8221; she said.</p><p>While going door to door the question of city expenses often came up, she said. Residents are &#8220;wondering where all the money&#8217;s going,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Her role, as she saw it, is to flag any problem areas she sees in city spending and to speak up for the taxpayers. &#8220;The majority feel they&#8217;ve never had a voice in City Hall,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Urban, who ran for mayor and city council in the past, also is running as an Independent for city council. She&#8217;s up against Bill Barrett, council vice chairman and a former police chief, for the District D seat. If she wins both spots, she said she will take the controller&#8217;s post and a committee will be assembled to fill the council seat.</p><p>Her stepson, Stephen J. Urban, won the Republican nomination for the District C council seat and will face Democrat Beth Gilbert. Her husband Stephen A. Urban, who is Luzerne County council member, finished third in the Democratic primary for controller.</p><p>Her background as a homeowner and landlord provide a solid foundation for office and scrutinizing budgets and spending, she said. She noted she also graduated from Luzerne County Community College and attended the State University of New York, Saratoga Springs studying community health and human services with a minor in modern America studies.</p><p>She said she also received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserves.</p><p>Her office door will be open to the public and the press and she said she plans to visible and accessible, and attend city council meetings. Most of the questions asked at council deal with the needs of the neighborhoods, she said.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t have a political agenda,&#8221; Urban said. &#8220;I stand alone and my decisions and my work at City Hall will be based on facts, figures and logic and of course the laws.&#8221;</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/2015/10/web1_LindaUrbanmug.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Urban </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_LindaUrbanmug.jpg</photo0><caption0>Urban </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_DarrenSnydermug.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Snyder </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_DarrenSnydermug.jpg</photo1><caption1>Snyder </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></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>

Wilkes-Barre controller candidates say voters want new faces, fresh ideas