Campaign Press Release

For immediate release: December 17, 2006

Fiorucci to run in primary for County Commissioner

A long time Democrat before becoming a Green in 2000, Fiorucci said he will run for County Commissioner in the 2007 primary as a Democrat.
"After seeing what happened to Romanelli in his bid as a Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, getting the signatures required to run as an Independent is just too risky," said Fiorucci.

Mario Fiorucci earned an MA in government from Georgetown University in 1982. He had graduated with honors from College Misericordia in 1980. He returned to the area after working in the brokerage business from 1983 to 1995. His interest in regionalization and Home Rule government started with articles he wrote for his free public interest newsletter.
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In 2005, Fiorucci was a candidate for mayor of Sugar Notch. The race was widely covered by the press and local TV news. More recently, Fiorucci has assessed the skills and management capabilities of local elected officials in various municipalities. Then in a 2006, PBS State of Pennsylvania forum, titled "Small town mayors, Big city challenges," he engaged the panel in a discussion of his theory that "without significant regionalization or consolidation among municipalities, a community college-based program of continuing education for elected officials should be established."

In response, the mayor of Sunbury concurred by stating that "as its’ been alluded to here, it (management by part-time elected officials) just doesn't work." The mayor of Kingston also said "a professional manager is necessary to solve the problem."

In assessing major county related issues, Fiorucci thinks the proposed $100 million prison proposal should be put on the ballot as a bond funding vote. He would also consider private prison management in an effort to control costs and pay down prison issued debt.

Regarding regionalization, Fiorucci wrote widely about establishing ‘Tax-Base Sharing’ programs among all municipalities. He also thinks that "Municipal Service Districts"should be enacted to create 'functional consolidation' among municipalities. A MunicipalService District would consist of five or more contiguous towns that have a combined population of more than 20,000.

Past articles or letters to the editor by Fiorucci can be found on Google by searching for:"Mario Fiorucci, Sugar Notch." He can also be reached at (570)-819-0721.

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