Fiorucci Cites Qualifications for Luzerne County Council Seat

After the most publicized corruption scandal in Luzerne County history, the Democratic Party has to embrace a cleansing process by supporting the election of proven political reformers or squeaky-clean citizens. It is no longer enough to endorse candidates who might be popular with the people, or the party, for a fleeting moment.

I am confident that I can lead the new form of government that Luzerne County will have in 2012. I have studied business, history, law and government at Luzerne County Community College, College Misericordia and Georgetown University. For the past 12 years, I have been effective in developing many issues for our area and having them published in local newspapers. I also have added significantly to the debate on other issues brought forth by the body politic.

I support transparency. As a member of Sugar Notch Borough Council, I thought it only ethical to alert the news media that the president of the council tried to call a meeting to raise taxes with only one day’s notice and without advertising.

I also am supportive of the dedicated social workers and various agencies in Luzerne County. Still, churches and even individuals have to help one another when government alone cannot do everything. I have taken in several homeless people over the years to give them some stability. Some I have known, some I just met the day I gave them shelter.

Because I knew these people needed a hand up, not just a handout, I was compelled to stand up to the Sugar Notch zoning officer and the rest of council last year when notice was given to the Holy Family Church that it would be fined $500 a day if it allowed V.I.S.I.O.N. to house several homeless people there for a week in January.

And to the Democratic Party, voters and residents of Luzerne County, I will not accept any endorsement, other than one from my party. I do not want to be held to any group’s agenda, because as a member of council, I must objectively view each issue in the light of its effect on the whole of Luzerne County.

As for contributions, I will not accept any during the primary period. Afterward, if I am selected to run in the general election, I would accept only $50 or less from individuals. I will not accept money from any type of special interest group.

WILK Radio Interview, Mario Fiorucci, Candidate for Luzerne County Council

Fiorucci Promises to Inform Public

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Posted: April 24
Updated: Today at 2:40 AM

Fiorucci promises to inform public

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter

Luzerne County Council candidate Mario J. Fiorucci said he’s proven that he will let the public know what’s happening in county government if he’s elected.

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Mario J. Fiorucci

Age: 53
Political party: Democrat
Residence: Sugar Notch
Education: Associate’s degree, Luzerne County Community College; bachelor’s degree in history and law, College Misericordia; master’s degree in political science, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Work experience: 1982-1989, VMS Realty and Integrated Resources, assistant national marketing manager for public real estate syndications; 1989-1993, Friedberg Mercantile and London Investment Trust, futures desk and floor trader; 1993-2002, Christensen and Associates and CitiStreet/Citibank, investor relations consultant and retirement specialist; 2002-2010, Diversified Information Technologies, medical records processor/specialist; 2010 to present, PA mentor for adults with developmental disorders.
Family: Single

Fiorucci, a Sugar Notch Borough Council member, regularly writes letters to local newspapers, has published free newsletters about local government affairs and isn’t shy about challenging or questioning government officials at public meetings. He also started the “State of the World,” a public affairs event attracting guest speakers, in 2000.
“I’d like to be on that council to make sure I’m a watchdog,” Fiorucci recently told a Times Leader endorsement panel.
Fiorucci said his willingness to speak out has prompted some to try to discredit him or portray him as a radical, but he said he can’t look the other way when elected officials ignore laws governing open meetings and spending.
“For some reason a lot of these towns – the experience I’ve had either going to council meetings as an activist and writing about issues or actually being on council – like to do things their way,” he said.
He doesn’t expect other county council candidates to team up with him.
“I don’t think you’re getting many people to stand with me because I seem to be standing on my own,” he said. “I’m amazed more people aren’t outraged at some of the things that occur in these small towns.”
Fiorucci said he’s been scouring the county budget to come up with ideas to reduce spending, particularly in court branches and the county prison.
He supports a 3-percent spending cut to help fund a voluntary retirement program to reduce personnel costs.
“I think we’d have to tailor this program to court and prison personnel rather than just general county employees like in the past,” Fiorucci said.
Implementing more technology could also reduce manpower in the county, he said.
Fiorucci said he’d rely on the manager to make recommendations on union contracts that come up for negotiation.
“There may have to be across-the-board cuts like in the auto industry. That’s what I think it’s coming down to for these local governments. We can’t afford I don’t think a county workforce our size,” he said.
Fiorucci voted for home rule and said he also helped get the previous home rule charter on the ballot, though it was defeated in 2004.
He supports a countywide search for the new manager or a statewide one if there aren’t enough viable applicants. He doesn’t want to target candidates nationally because he believes some of these applicants would take too long to understand the local government structure and use the county post as a “stepping stone to try to further their careers.”
Experience with technology is a must for the manager, he said.
“I’d be more comfortable with someone from the county because their learning curve will be shorter,” said Fiorucci, who also wants to create a countywide environmental advisory panel.


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County Council Business Must be Transparent

Council members serve the people.  We should not attempt to keep them in the dark on how decisions are being made.  I would rather put everything out there and hear the opinion of the citizens in an open forum.  This is their county, not the council’s.  I successfully got the local press involved to  stop a planned closed door meeting on taxes by the Sugar Notch town council so the public could attend.

On Accepting Political Endorsements

I don’t believe in them, and here is why…   Accepting an endorsement equates to “vote for me and I owe you a favor later.  That leads to poor decision making and corruption.  We can’t have that again.  It is unacceptable.  I would say to the voters…” Be careful in what you read into endorsements, it may be a red flag for deciding why you should not vote for someone.  I will accept donations from individual citizens.  Groups, companies, unions, don’t vote.  People do, individual voters.  Having a group come out and say we endorse this candidate implies that the entire group thinks alike.  I know that isn’t true and actually think it is a bit of an insult to the individual voter.  Look,… voters are smart enough to think for themselves.  They don’t need to be swayed by groups and told what to do.  I will not accept endorsements from groups.  I will not put myself in the position to owe anyone a political favor. 

My Stance on Luzerne County Taxes

I think we already pay enough taxes and don't always get quality services for the price we pay.  What we need is a real bottom-up review of services and what we spend on them.  By “real” I don’t mean the kind of cursory review that has been done in the past, rather I mean a review where we look at the details, line by line and ask some hard questions like…  Do we really need this?  Do the citizens value this service?  How does the price we are paying for it compare to what other communities pay?  We need to keep asking questions until we get to the bottom line.  Saying that is what we have always paid it is not acceptable.  We need to think out of the box.  I am not sure that has really been done before.

Give County Council The Tools They Need

Equip new council to do its job well

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Almost all members of the Hanover Area School Board use laptops at their meetings.
They can load materials needed for each meeting and archive them, too. Financial reports, budget proposals and the upcoming meeting’s agenda can be viewed in advance. They also get e-mails from both citizens and school officials as they are composed. This helps members stay focused on meeting issues and not on getting organized, pulling files, etc. The chairman of the school board is even able to make PowerPoint presentations during meetings.
When the new members of the Luzerne County Council take office in 2012, they also should use laptops for their work and meetings. This would make communications from the clerk of county council and from the chairperson more efficient, by giving the members time to prepare for discussions at the meeting.
For an example of how things can go wrong, at recent Sugar Notch Council meetings a lot of confusion was created by many miscues. First, the chairman tried to call a special meeting with only one day’s notice and no advertising. This set off a chain of events that the local newspapers and TV news covered. Then they held a meeting to pass the budget, without balancing it. At the next regular meeting, they tried to balance it by raising the personal income tax above 1 percent, which is not allowed by state law.
Finally, they passed a half-mill increase in the property tax, which did not close the gap completely. To say this process became a comedy of errors is kind.
Several years ago, I surveyed a dozen councils in Luzerne County to see if they would support a non-credit program of classes at Luzerne County Community College to help train new members and even upgrade skills of present council members. Only Edwardsville wanted it.
Let’s try and give the new county council members the tools they might need to succeed.

Fiorucci Announces for County Council

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February 17

Fiorucci announces for county council

Democrat Mario Fiorucci, 53, Sugar Notch, has announced his candidacy for Luzerne County Council.

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Fiorucci

Born and raised in Sugar Notch, Fiorucci graduated from Hanover Area High School, Luzerne County Community College and College Misericordia. He also received a master’s degree in political science from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Fiorucci worked on the futures exchange at the World Trade Center in New York City from 1983 to 1995 and later as an investment advisor for CitiStreet. He was employed by Diversified Information Technologies from 2002 through 2010 and currently works as a mentor for special-needs clients.
He is currently a Sugar Notch council member.
In 1998, Fiorucci started the Townews, a free public-interest newsletter focused on county and local government issues. In 2000, he started the “State of the World,” a public affairs event attracting guest speakers.
Fiorucci was a member of the Northeast Boy Scouts of America “Gathering of Eagles” committee and has been an advocate for the homeless, supporting a proposal to house the homeless in Sugar Notch last year, the release said.

He urges the public to visit his online blog at www.mariofiorucci.blogspot.com or e-mail him at mario4council@gmail.com.