Community leader Jim Kilmartin announced in February he was seeking the Republican nomination for mayor of Tyrone.
Kilmartin heads the town’s Joshua House youth ministry and has tried for a seat in municipal government in Tyrone before when he sought appointment to a vacant council position some time ago.
In a previous news release, Kilmartin said of his candidacy, “Serving the Tyrone community in this way would be a privilege. Upon learning that Mayor (Patricia) Stoner would not be seeking re-election this year, I saw it as an opportunity to fulfill the desire I have to serve this community in a greater measure.”
Just a day before his announcement in early February, Stoner, the town’s two-term leader, said she was calling it quits and would leave office with the expiration of her second term. A new mayor will be seated at Tyrone’s first borough council meeting in January.
Kilmartin said he discussed his plans with Mayor Stoner and she had given him her complete support.
Kilmartin also detailed his background in the previous release by saying, “Having lived my entire life in the Tyrone area, I wanted to return to my roots after having graduated from college. Upon receiving my Bachelor of Arts Degree from Grove City College, I came back home and, immediately, began to work hand-in-hand with people within the community in an effort to see our people prosper and their lives improve. Much of my practical experience has been in solving ‘people problems’ and working with our youth. I feel my formal education, and my background in working closely with people, qualifies me to competently perform the duties of mayor.”
Kilmartin said as mayor he would have regular office hours at the municipal building and would be available to hear about problems and take suggestions from the townspeople.
Kilmartin has continued to formulate what he termed his “focus” for Tyrone.
He detailed what that would entail in a statement released to The Daily Herald last month.
“My focus is embracing the present and building for the future of Tyrone,” said Kilmartin. “We have been blessed to build up a strong foundation for the elderly in the community and now I want to do that for the youth and young families. I want to work with the local businesses and cultivate the atmosphere for the specialty stores to flourish. Realizing that Tyrone has the opportunity to grow with the completion of I-99, I want to help continue to develop Tyrone into a strong family friendly environment. I want to see this ‘bedroom’ community to be a pearl among the mountains that will shine brightly and attract blue collar and white collar workers.”
Kilmartin went on to offer some specifics about how he would accomplish his goals.
In the business arena he said he would work with local businesses and cultivate the atmosphere for the specialty shops. He also stressed a desire to development a “young family friendly environment” by developing a sports complex and non-sport activities and by working with police to eliminate drugs.
He also wants to establish a volunteer team of grant writers “to bring some of the millions of dollars out there to Tyrone.”
Kilmartin said he wanted to work with local and state government officials and planned to host twice-yearly town meetings with Pennsylvania’s representatives and senators.
Additionally, Kilmartin said he wants to work with civic organizations, the school district, businesses, religious organizations, the media and others.
