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Chris Doherty Drops Bid for Governor's Race

Chris Doherty Drops Bid for Governor's Race - Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 6:09PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Thursday, Feb 18, 2010 @ 06:09pm EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - It's official. Scranton mayor Chris Doherty has dropped his bid for governor but he's not quitting politics. Doherty announced Thursday morning he's now running for the Pennsylvania State Senate.

The signs outside Doherty's campaign headquarters on Spruce Street have already been changed. Even though he's not running for the state's top job, he says the issues he wants to tackle are the same: creating jobs and reforming Harrisburg.

"I got into public service to give, not get," Doherty said as he made his announcement.

The official announcement came at the Commonwealth Medical College. Just minutes earlier, Mayor Doherty announced his plans live on Eyewitness News at 11:00 AM.

"To run state-wide, you need millions and millions of dollars and we got in it late and that was an obstacle," Doherty said.

Doherty now says he'll turn his attention to the state senate seat being vacated by Bob Mellow. Mellow announced last week he will not seek re-election.

While Doherty is well-known across the city of Scranton, the state senate seat he wants covers a wide area, including Carbondale, Coolbaugh Township and Avoca. We wanted to know what voters in those areas thought.

"I don't think Mr. Doherty has that good of a chance, only because he's not that well-known in Lackawanna County and from what I read in the newspaper, I don't think people in Scranton care for him too much," Marge Verrastro of Jessup said.

"I think he'd make a great choice actually. From what I've seen in Scranton, he's done a good job cleaning it up," Sherri Mayne of Peckville said.

The race to replace Mellow will be a crowded one. Just on the democratic side, Doherty will face challenges from current state representative Jim Wansacz and Scranton school board member Chris Phillips.

Doherty says what sets him apart is his job creation ability and he's already making his first promise. If elected, he would not accept per diems. Those are perks given to some legislators.

"Should you be given a blanket check everyday for showing up for work? No," Doherty said.
 


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