By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski’s allocation of federal money to companies controlled by his relatives was a major issue last election, and one of the reasons he only narrowly survived against Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta.
But the man once again challenging Kanjorski indicated Wednesday that next year’s election will have a different focus, one that hinges on national, not local, issues.
“I believe this will be an election on the direction of our country is heading right now,” Barletta told reporters on a conference call shortly after formally declaring his candidacy.
Lessening the national debt, reducing the unemployment rate and preserving the free market will be the campaign’s major issues, he said. The now three-time 11th District Congressional candidate framed his upcoming battle against Kanjorski as a referendum on President Barack Obama’s agenda.
The mayor must first defeat Republican hedge fund manager Chris Paige for the GOP nomination, but he said he didn’t think the Republican posed much of a threat.
“No, I don’t,” Barletta said. “I’m going to run my campaign no differently than if he was in or not.”
Barletta sent a letter to supporters in November asking them to help retire nearly $250,000 in debt accumulated from his last campaign. He reported Wednesday he has raised $25,000 since then for the debt, but emphasized any fundraising from now on will go toward his campaign.
Money will be the key to defeating Kanjorski, the mayor said, particularly if the incumbent and his Democratic allies spend as much campaigning against him next year as they did last year. Barletta estimated about $7 million was spent fending off his congressional challenge in 2008.
“Raising money will be our top goal,” he said.
News of Barletta’s decision brought a swift response from Kanjorski. Ed Mitchell, his campaign spokesman, said the 11th District voters have already rejected Barletta twice.
“Hearing that Mr. Barletta is running for Congress again reminds me of what Yogi Berra said: This is like deja vu all over again.’” Mitchell said in a statement. “Having been rejected by the voters twice, I guess Barletta is looking for strike three and you’re out.”
The mayor also ran against Kanjorski in 2002, losing by double-digits.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee criticized Barletta for pushing through a tax increase in Hazleton last week.
“Just a year after being rejected for the second time by voters across the 11th district, Lou Barletta is now trying to ditch the mess he created in City Hall,” said Shripal Shah, DCCC spokesman “The phrase ‘failed leadership’ doesn’t do Barletta’s paltry record justice; under his tenure, Barletta squandered the city’s funds, depleted Hazleton’s resources, and now is looking to pass the buck to residents in the form of higher taxes.”
Barletta defended the move, saying he had proposed a much smaller increase in taxes that eliminated some police jobs that the city’s residents rejected. The country’s economic crisis, he said, was to blame for the city’s financial condition in the first place.
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