Butler Township resident Jimmy Sabatino announced he is seeking a Democratic nomination for Luzerne County Council in the May 16 primary election.
Sabatino was born in Hazleton, where his family has run a popular restaurant since 1975. Currently, Sabatino and his siblings own and operate the three Vesuvio’s locations in Hazleton, Drums and Wilkes-Barre. Growing up in the family business, he said his parents and grandparents instilled in him the values of hard work and community service.
The 42-year-old said he is running because the county deserves leaders who “prioritize solutions, not political games and personal agendas.”
”We deserve leaders who are focused on proper management and fiscal responsibility of this county, and who will address the big issues like the county prison, as well as ensuring that all Luzerne County voters can vote with confidence, find a job, and afford a home,” he said.
Sabatino said he is determined to move Luzerne County forward.
He cited his desire to serve his community as one of the reasons he chose to run.
”As my grandparents and mother were Italian immigrants, they taught our family the value of taking care of the community that we are a part of. Luzerne County has given so much to me and my family, and I believe all of our community’s families should have the opportunities to succeed like mine has,” he said.
He does not believe that the current council is putting the community’s needs first and said he is “motivated to fix the issues in Luzerne, many caused by the lack of action by the current council.”
”I’m running to put the county back on track after this council has wasted the county’s time and resources on frivolous pursuits such as using the next 25 years of funds provided from the state gambling money for a bridge to nowhere, opening the county up to expensive lawsuits, playing partisan politics with the hiring of the county manager and mismanaging the funds Luzerne County received from the American Rescue Plan,” he said.
His policy priorities include rebuilding county infrastructure, improving outdoor spaces, pushing for property tax reform, seeking creative ways to increase county revenue and addressing food and housing insecurity, all to rebuild the community’s faith in county government.
”Instead of trying to dismantle the county government in the name of lower taxes, we should make our local government more efficient and beneficial to all Luzerne County residents. The current council seems more concerned with pandering to politics than to protecting our people. The current council has accomplished nothing outside of embarrassing itself, bickering, and wasting taxpayers’ money while letting down the hardworking people of this county by failing to uphold their responsibilities as elected officials.”
More information is available at www.jimmyforluzerne.com or www.facebook.com/TeamSabatino.
A majority of county council seats — six of 11 — are up for grabs this year.