First Posted: 1/10/2014

He’s still learning.

And he likes it that way.

After a full term under his belt, Pittston’s ruggedly handsome and soft spoken Mayor Jason Klush said he’s handled it all: From heated budget battles to tossing candy to children in the Tomato Festival Parade, from hours-long meetings to simple ribbon cuttings.

Related Video

But he’s the first to admit he still has much to learn.

Klush, 37, of Webster Street, was sworn in for a second term Monday night by Luzerne County Judge Fred Pierantoni. He sat down with the Sunday Dispatch Thursday to analyze his first term and look ahead at the next four years.

Klush touted the progress made throughout the city under his first term, particularly the downtown. He has spoken of successful projects like the Riverfront Condominium, the Open Space facility featuring the Boden Outlet, the UFCW Credit Union and the Gilbro project at the corner of William and Main streets. New businesses include Fuji Japanese Restaurant, NEPA Tattoo Club, Tomato Bar & Bistro and Dempsey’s Dry Cleaning.

Callahan’s on Main will be opening soon and a Mexican restaurant and a bakery are two new business that are about to be announced.

He said downtown is alive and quickly becoming an arts destination.

Klush already unveiled the city’s Neighborhood Housing Initiative which will make improvements to substandard, deteriorating and unoccupied homes and street crowding which causes the tax base to decline. Sprucing up neighborhoods, acquiring tax sale and foreclosure properties, tax rebates and creating a housing impact team are projects that have all began.

An additional building code official, Stephen Nowroski, was hired and code enforcement officer Harry Smith was made full time. Operations Director David Allen Hines is also part of the team.

Their charge, Klush said, is to ID problem properties in the city and use the city’s enforcement powers to help clean up the neighborhoods. One tool is the city’s updated rental inspection ordinance.

Council updated a city ordinance in July requiring biennial safety and fire inspections of all rental units and businesses. The goal is to protect the health and safety of residents and to clean up dilapidated and neglected properties. When complaints came in that the fines and time restrictions were too stiff, council obliged and reduced fines and relaxed time restrictions. But the Northeast Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Homeowner Association filed suit against the city stating such ordinances are unconstitutional. The lawsuit was recently withdrawn from U.S. District Court, but the group plans to refile it in several weeks in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

“We get complaints and we’re acting on them,” Klush said.

Meanwhile, he said, the city has been steadily going into problem properties and issuing citations. He said he can see a difference.

“I personally think the neighborhoods are starting to change,” he said. “People are starting to fix their own yards. People are starting to take pride in the city again, and that’s great. It started from the downtown and it’s working its way outward.”

Klush is a 2000 graduate of East Stroudsburg University with a degree in sociology and criminal justice. He defeated first-term mayor Joseph Keating in the 2009 Democratic primary. He defeated former bar owner Gene Rooney in the 2012 Democratic Primary and ran unopposed in the November General Election.

He is the youngest mayor in the city’s history and was sworn in when he was 33.

A construction manager at Hadley Construction in Jenkins Township, Klush said he is out of bed at 5:30 a.m. on most mornings and at work an hour later. On Thursday, he finished work around 4:30 p.m. and headed to the Dispatch for this interview. He had another meeting about Pittston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade later in the evening before his day was complete. He’s generally in bed by 11:30 p.m.

“I don’t have a lot of down time,” he said. “I’m too active. I can’t just sit around.”

Even in the winter, he’s happy to be doing construction work, although primarily interior jobs.

He is proud of utilizing his hands-on abilities in saving the city money, including helping construct the city’s new salt shed, repairing the library’s roof, helping renovate the Open Space and hanging downtown signs and banners, all on his own time, free of charge.

His core team includes seasoned City Administrator Joe Moskovitz, who was brought into the fold by former Mayor Michael Lombardo. Also Councilman Michael Lombardo and Klush’s campaign manager James Zarra, who sits on the city’s redevelopment authority and Joe Chacke, the authority’s executive director. Rose Randazzo, the Main Street Manager, is his point person in all things downtown, including attracting new businesses. Other members of the team include Operations Director David Allen Hines and Police Chief Robert Powers.

Although Klush is in City Hall often, he doesn’t keep an office. He say he communicates with his team primarily through email, texts, phone calls and, of course, meetings.

“I’m in and out,” Klush said. “But I’m always in touch with my team.”

The mayor’s office at City Hall was previously used for code enforcement and will soon be renovated and added to the suite of offices occupied by new Magisterial District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz.

In his first term, property taxes remained the same and even offered property owners a rebate throught a Homestead provision passed when the city switched to Home Rule. He said the city is in decent shape financially and has a manageable amount of debt.

Klush said Pittston’s rebirth has been a long time coming.

“I think the whole idea of living in Pittston is changing for the good,” Klush said. “Some neighbors that have been complaining in the past, are now coming up to me and expressing their joy. There’s a change happening all over the city.”

He said as his administration continues to focus on the neighborhoods. He hopes to improve the city parks, starting with the rear of Sullivan Park. He said fixing up part and selling off another part may be key.

“It’s a gateway there,” Klush said. “It goes down the hill to Lambert Street. We have a lot of problems with younger kids there, and older kids going up the hill and causing trouble in the back of the park. There’s not much lighting back there and we get a lot of complaints.”

He said he won’t cut away key Little League and tee ball fields, just the unused areas in the back.

Jefferson Park, Klush’s home park, is next. He’s unsure if the city wants to keep the building on the property because of repeated damage to the climate control system and water pipes. He said it’s costing the city a lot to keep repairing the damage. In the past, the building has only been used for voting and YMCA programs in the summer. Voting has been moved and he hasn’t heard from the YMCA about use this summer.

“It’s up in the air what we’re going to do with the building, but the park absolutely stays,” he said, noting some property above the park may be sold to add to the townhouses that sit there.

He said the mini-football group that runs West Park has requested a water line to their concession stand/field house. He believes the city can help.

Another project he’s been trying to accomplish is getting a crosswalk on Kennedy Boulevard between Infantino Tower and Quinns Market. He said senior citizens often take their lives into their hands crossing the street.

“I’m always slowing down, looking in my mirrors,” he said. “That’s dangerous and we need a crosswalk.”

Klush said even after his first term, he is still meeting new people, facing difficult decisions and continuing revitalization.

“As soon as I got in there, there was a lot to take in,” he said. “I’m still learning. I learned that in Pittston there are still people here that care about Pittston and it’s coming back. It was almost gone, but now it’s coming back in a big way.”

Many say Klush is a good listener.

“I try to listen and give an honest answer to everything,” he said. “If I can help, I’m going to help. If I say it’s going to get done, it’ll get done. But I don’t make promises I can’t keep. Sometimes you have to wait for money to become available or other issues. But I listen to everybody.”

Klush, the classic underdog who toppled a longtime political fixture four years ago, said he would be open to a third term, but said it was way too early to discuss that.

“It was a big step,” he said. “It changed my life drastically. But our ball was rolling then and it’s still rolling now, getting bigger, getting stronger.”