Barletta, team win re-election (Hazleton Standard-Speaker)

By L.A. TARONE
Staff Writer
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta swept into his third term by a wide margin and running mates Joe Yannuzzi and Evelyn Graham retained their council seats by campaigning closely with him.
With all wards counted unofficially, including absentee ballots, Barletta culled 3,530 votes, while Libertarian challenger John Medashefski polled 405.
Barletta becomes the first three-term mayor since Joe Conahan.
Yannuzzi was the top vote- getter in the council race with 2,729. Graham was close behind with 2,709.
Democratic challengers Dickie Cusatis got 1,245, while Maureen DeCosmo-Pozzessere got 1,240.
Barletta arrived at his victory party at the Elks Club just after 9 p.m. Flanked by his wife, Mary Grace, and daughters, Kelly, April and Lindsey, Barletta thanked his family for support, adding he’d been “blessed with a great family” who had “sacrificed so much so I could serve this city.”
Barletta also thanked his personal secretary, Cherie Homa, whom he called “incredible,” and the rest of his administration, calling them “the best any mayor could ever have.”
Barletta then launched into a speech filled with fighting metaphors and descriptions.
“We have fought to change Hazleton from the inside,” Barletta said of himself, Graham and Yannuzzi. “We have struggled to right the sinking ship and we have succeeded.”
He added the three had fought to “stem the increasing tide of drugs, gangs and senseless violence.”
And, of course, he mentioned the issue which has given him a national profile: illegal immigration.
“We’ve seen what illegal immigration has done to our small town quality of life and we have said, ‘No! We will not let this happen,’” he said. “We will fight!”
He said the three had “changed Hazleton from a statewide punchline to a nationwide leader,” adding “other cities are now following Hazleton’s lead.”
“We’re not on the right track, we’re the engine that leads the train,” he roared. “We are not only moving forward, we’re racing ahead!”
Both Yannuzzi and Graham took the podium after Barletta to make brief remarks.
In his, Yannuzzi thanked Council Vice President Jack Mundie, adding that “without Jackie, we couldn’t have accomplished everything we did.”
Before addressing the crowd, Yannuzzi said he was pleased with the results.
“I feel good. It’s always good to have the public speak in your favor, and that’s what happened,” he said. “What we’ve been doing in Hazleton, we’ll just continue to do.”
“I think Joe and I have concentrated on what we saw as problems in Hazleton,” Graham said. “People responded in kind.”
Graham said her campaign polled local voters and found illegal immigration was the top issue, followed by crime, drugs and violence.
“Everything else was registering just about 1 percent in importance,” she said. “So I think people saw us as trying to address those issues people were worried about.”
Cusatis and Pozzessere were magnanimous.
“It was a pretty good turnout, so obviously people made a choice they’re comfortable with,” Cusatis said. “So I hope Evelyn and Joe and Lou will work together to make life for the people of Hazleton better. But congratulations to them.”
“I wish them well, I really do,” Pozzessere said. “We thought we could make a few little changes, but voters didn’t agree. I hope they (Yannuzzi and Graham) can take a look at some of our ideas and take something from them. But the people spoke and that’s the democratic process.”
Turnout citywide was just under 40 percent – a tad higher than expected.