CRIZ Fuels Fiery Final Push in Pottsville Election

Candidates for Pottsville City Hall hit out at their opponents this week as their campaigns entered the home stretch toward Election Day.

On Wednesday, both the incumbent Democrats and challenging Republicans held events for supporters. And as has been the case for much of this campaign season, the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) program was the topic of much discussion at each.

Earlier in the week, it was learned that the state just returned $2 million to Tamaqua as part of their participation in the program.

CRIZ Clash

Seizing on that, the Republican candidates again called out the current administration at City Hall one more time for failing to secure CRIZ designation in 2024. Pottsville was denied entry into CRIZ due to numerous flaws in its application.

“Tamaqua … they’re going to be the new Jim Thorpe and they’re half the size of us,” Republican mayoral candidate Tom Smith told supporters at a rally at Coney Island.

Smith blamed laziness among the current administration for the CRIZ application failure.

“If we wouldn’t have been so lazy and put the CRIZ Authority in place, like Reading did and Erie did, what would we be getting? Would we be getting $4 million this year? And that’s for 30 years. Walked away from it,” he said.

Council candidate Jonathan Marsh said he got into the race after seeing the CRIZ failure and the City administration’s reaction to it.

“They were just so nonchalant about it,” he said.

The Democrat candidate for Mayor, Andy Wollyung, has in the past on the campaign trail said that there’s no sense trying to “look into the past” with regard to CRIZ. But at a rally Wednesday at Buck Fever, he struck a different tone.

He said his opponents who are critical of Pottsville for failing to get CRIZ status are only upset because that designation would benefit them and their businesses.

“We found that the people that want the things they do for Pottsville, such as the CRIZ … They want those things because that’s the best interest for them. That’s the best interest for their businesses, the ones they’ve taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from our city and taken and turned into assets for themselves,” Wollyung said to the crowd of supporters. “They’ve taken that money and they turned it into their own profits. They talk about us and what we do. None of us have a stake like that in Pottsville.”

He went further and criticized state Sen. Dave Argall, claiming he didn’t step in to help secure CRIZ designation for Pottsville because he was interested in making the current administration look bad.

“They often talk that if they were in office, they would have got that done, the CRIZ and all of these grants. Well, guess what .. If Sen. Argall was so great, how come he didn’t want to work with us then? I could tell you why. Because they’d rather make us look bad than actually help us because that’s what they’re about. As (Councilwoman) Catherine Mahon said in a post, they’d rather be the kings of ashes rather than help Pottsville in a positive manner. They could have stepped up and been that any time they want but it wasn’t in their best financial interest and they didn’t and that’s unfair to all of us who have built this city together. Our best interest is for thy neighbor and not for thy wallet.

“We know that we’ve had the best interests of Pottsville at heart and we know that they did not and they continue to not,” he said.

Republican council candidate Scott Price said Wednesday that he and his running mates did offer to serve on a CRIZ Authority, which the current administration did say it wanted to form in anticipation of the program’s application window reopening.

“We submitted our names to the City back in June,” he said. “That fell apart. The City denied any help. They didn’t want anything to do with us.”

Election Plans

Outside of CRIZ, candidates also spoke of their plans if they’re elected on Nov. 4.

The Republicans focused on their 90-day plan, which had been released over past campaign events. They also said they’ll “aggressively” pursue state and federal funds, which they say their opponents have failed to do.

“Our tax dollars are going to other communities. We need change and we need it now,” Smith said.

Smith also told supporters he’ll be a full-time mayor if he’s elected.

“I’ll be there at City Hall every day,” he said. “They’re not going to love me there but we’re going to get stuff done.”

Marsh said he’ll lean on his experience in the Marine Corps and work on building teams within the city.

“I’m going to get these committees that aren’t doing anything right now working toward their goal,” he said.

If elected, Wollyung said, hiring a new City Administrator, aiding the Streets Dept. and filling open seats on boards are a top priorities.

“We’re going to do it by the strong foundations that built our families together. We’re going to do it together and we’re going to do it as one community,” he said.

Democrat council candidate Tom Wood said he doesn’t view Pottsville as a “stagnant city.”

“I think we have a lot of good things going on in our city,” Wood said.

He said the Democrats’ campaign is working for everyone in the city, not just the downtown business district. In his comments at the rally, Wood also highlighted the city’s parks and amphitheater, believing it’s underutilized.

His running mate, Mike Weres, pointed to what he viewed as accomplishments.

“Our opposition is trying to paint the city as a failure. And they’ve actually said that. We’re not a failure. They said each department and the authorities are inept,” Weres said.

Weres, who is current City Controller and a member of the Pottsville Parking Authority board, noted a renovation of the Capitol parking garage as one of those accomplishments. He also claimed that the Parking Authority was recently named one of the best in the country. However, board members tabled recognizing that accolade over concerns that it was just a marketing scheme and not an actual award.

He also highlighted the city’s Housing Authority and Redevelopment Authority and said there have been 56 new business licenses issued in Pottsville.

Balance of Power at Stake

There’s plenty on the line in the Pottsville election this year, namely the balance of power. A Republican sweep would shift that right for the first time in decades.

NOTE: Due to The Canary’s commitment to another assignment simultaneous to these events, each party sent Coal Region Canary candidate speech videos from their Wednesday rallies.

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