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Crowded field in Charleroi mayor race

2 min read

Voters in Charleroi will see a crowded ballot for the mayor’s office as three candidates are attempting to unseat the incumbent in the May 21 spring primary.

Former Charleroi mayor Frank Paterra joins state constable Marcus Carroll and former Charleroi Chamber of Commerce director John Mollenauer on the Democratic ticket against Mayor Nancy Ellis.

Ellis cites her accomplishments, which include building a regional police department, in her campaign for a second four-year term.

“The police department is doing excellent. I would like to bring more communities into the regional department,” Ellis said.

She also said she hired a new consultant to lead efforts to restore the closed Coyle Theater, which, when reopened, would attract new businesses to town.

Mollenauer, however, said he believes Charleroi has been going downhill for the past decade and needs new leadership, including on borough council.

“People are waking up and realizing there have to be changes,” said Mollenauer, who works in advertising sales for a local publication.

Carroll said he, too, feels it’s time for changes in Charleroi.

“Number one, we have to clean up the drugs,” said Carroll, saying he holds two college degrees. “Number two, we need to go after the absentee landlords who don’t care about their tenants.”

Paterra also said that getting rid of drug dealers in the borough would be his top priority, as it was when he was mayor from 2005 to 2009, when he was defeated by Ellis. I would bring the FBI back into Charleroi,” Paterra said. “I would also resurrect the Guardian Angels,” training local volunteers to patrol the borough. No one has filed to run for mayor or council on the Republican ticket.

Paterra and Ellis also will appear on the ballot for council, where four, four-year terms are up for grabs.

They will compete against seven others in the race. They are Edward M. Bryner, Larry M. Celaschi, Deborah L. Kruell-Buck, Tom Dubreucq, Paul Pivovarnik, Terrence M. Newstrom and Bob Arthurs. Pivovarnik and Newstrom are incumbents. Should Paterra or Ellis win both the mayor and council races, he or she would have to choose which office to hold.

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