Fiorucci promises to inform public
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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. click image to enlarge
CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER
click image to enlarge
Mario J. Fiorucci
Age: 53Political 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
“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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