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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; For someone who described himself as reticent, Mayor Tony George was effusive Tuesday in announcing his run for re-election.</p><p>For a few minutes, the 67-year-old Democrat offered his reasons for wanting to serve a second term to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 50 supporters at the Riverside Cafe on Old River Road, many of them members of his administration.</p><p>&#8220;Growing up my dad said, &#8216;Talk is cheap. A lot of people talk just to hear themselves speak,&#8217;&#8221; George recalled.</p><p>The fatherly advice formed George&#8217;s not-what-you-say, but-what-you-do attitude, he said.</p><p>&#8220;My father said you never start a job you can&#8217;t finish. And that&#8217;s one of the reasons why I&#8217;m running for this second term because I want to finish this,&#8221; George said.</p><p>The former police chief and city councilman added that he and his administration have a list of accomplishments &#8212; fighting blight, reintroducing the police K9 unit, instituting &#8220;Taking it to the Streets&#8221; to address nuisance properties, and the reconstruction of the Solomon Creek wall.</p><p>At his announcement, George surrounded himself with family members and the leadership of city council, chairman Mike Belusko and vice chairman Bill Barrett, Democrats who also are running for re-election in the May 21 primary.</p><p>Council and the mayor have their differences, George said. &#8220;But unlike the federal government, we&#8217;re able to compromise and we get things done in the city and I got to give them a big hand,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Former City Administrator Ted Wampole, who along with Charlotte Raup are co-chairs of the mayor&#8217;s campaign, said George is the best person to lead the city forward in the next four years. Two other Democratic candidates &#8212; former city councilman George Brown, who challenged George in the May 2015 primary, and Brian Ferry &#8212; have announced their candidacies for the office that pays $82,000-a-year plus benefits.</p><p>&#8220;Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success,&#8221; Wampole said of where the mayor&#8217;s administration has been and where it&#8217;s going.</p><p>Paulino Nunez said he&#8217;s backing George&#8217;s campaign. He said the mayor has welcomed the city&#8217;s growing Spanish-speaking community.</p><p>&#8220;Since I started doing business around here and everything, he&#8217;s been the one who&#8217;s been supporting me,&#8221; Nunez said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Ted Wampole, campaign co-chair for Mayor Tony George, speaks to the crowd during George&#8217;s re-election announcement party at Riverside Cafe in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022719TonyGeorge2-1-.jpeg-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Ted Wampole, campaign co-chair for Mayor Tony George, speaks to the crowd during George&#8217;s re-election announcement party at Riverside Cafe in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022719TonyGeorge1-1-.jpeg-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George kicks off his re-election campaign at the Riverside Cafe in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL022719TonyGeorge1-1-.jpeg-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George kicks off his re-election campaign at the Riverside Cafe in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>WB George kicks off re-election campaign</subheadMeta></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 @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WB Mayor George says he’s running for second term to finish what he’s started