Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton announced his candidacy for the state Senate in the 14th District, setting up a primary battle with fellow Democrat state Rep. John Yudichak.
Leighton, 49, attracted a generous crowd on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. while making his announcement at Rodano’s on Public Square.
“It’s an opportunity now for me to take the experience I have as a legislator… and be able to help other communities throughout the district,” said Leighton
Leighton has been a member of city Council for more than 12 years and has held the position of Mayor for the last six years.
“This has been a very quick decision,” said Leighton, “Three weeks ago I had no intentions of running for Senate until Senator Musto announced his retirement, and here we are today.”
Leighton will run for the seat that long time Democrat Raphael Musto has held for 28 years. Musto, 80, of Pittston Township, recently announced that he will leave office on November 30, passing up an opportunity for re-election.
“I’m going to work very hard,” said Leighton. “The first thing I’d like to do is work on property tax reform because we cannot continue to tax people out of their homes.”
Leighton will be squaring off against fellow Democrat state Rep. John Yudichak who currently represents the 119th district in the May 18 primary.
Reported by Gino Troiani
