BOROUGH MAYOR
Mayor Harold P. Kelly (Term January 2, 2006 to December 31, 2009)
Mayor Wesley W. Dunn (Term January 5, 2004 to December 31, 2005)
Mayor Robert W. Kester (Term January 8, 2003 to December 31, 2003)
Mayor Tony Perry (January 1, 1994 to December 11, 2002)
Mayor Tony Perry passed away on Wednesday, December 11, 2002. He was married to the former Carol Simpson for more than 38 years. Born February 19, 1937, in Scranton, Pennsylvania he resided with his family in Clarks Summit Borough since 1967. Tony was a graduate of West Scranton High School and had attended the University of Scranton. He furthered his studies in criminal justice, receiving his Act 120 from Lackawanna Junior College. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force.
Before his retirement, he was a criminal investigator for the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office. serving more than 24 years under District Attorneys Mazzoni, Preate, Barrasse and Jarbola.
Before serving as the Mayor of the Borough of Clarks Summit, he had been a police officer of the Borough for several years. He served as a Borough Councilman for six years and as the Clarks Summit Police Commissioner for five years. At his passing, he was also the Vice President of the Lackawanna County Mayors Association.
Tony was an honorable, loving and kind man, he cherished his family and idolized his grandson, Zack, with whom he enjoyed spending time fishing and swimming.
Tony took pride in his government and civic affairs and will be deeply missed by all. Tony is survived by his wife, Carol, his son, Scott (of Whitehall) and his daughter Pamela Karabin (of Dunmore) his grandson Zack, his brother, Roy (of York Springs) and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
TERM OF OFFICE
The term of Office for an elected Mayor is four (4) years.
ROLE OF THE MAYOR
Although the office of mayor still carries considerable prestige and is often viewed as the head of borough government from the outside, this perception is not upheld in actual practice. In the middle of the nineteenth century the burgess was the central figure in borough government. The burgess presided over council meetings, had a vote on all issues and appointed committee members. The burgess was also the chief executive officer, appointing many borough officials and exercising general supervision over borough government. In addition, the burgess was a judicial officer hearing all cases involving violation of borough ordinances. Since that time all judicial powers, all appointive powers, practically all legislative powers and almost all administrative powers have been removed from the office. The mayor remains as the ceremonial head of borough government, but occupies a very peripheral role in its actual operation.
Even though possessing few statutory powers, the mayor is in a position to exercise leadership in the community because of the prestige of the office and its elected status. The extent of the mayor's role will be defined by the individual officeholder's own view of civic responsibilities, personal skills, background in government affairs and individual interest. To a large degree the mayor's role is also defined by the local political culture, the generalized local attitudes toward municipal government and commonly-held expectations of how officials should operate.
ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS
Borough mayors retain only very limited administrative powers, chiefly centered around supervising the daily operations of the police department. This situation is in direct contrast to large cities where the mayors are actually the chief executives, responsible for operation of the city governments. Under the "Borough Code", council is responsible for almost all administrative operations of the borough government. In boroughs where the office of borough manager has been created, administrative responsibilities can be delegated by the council to the manager. The mayor is also authorized to delegate any mayoral administrative duties to the manager with the approval of council.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS
The "Borough Code" states that the mayor is to preserve order in the borough, enforce the ordinances and resolutions, remove nuisances, exact faithful performance of the duties of the officers appointed, and perform such other duties assigned by law or ordinance. While this paragraph seems to give broadbrush authority to the mayor, it is not backed by any detailed powers elsewhere in the "Borough Code" outlining how these duties are to be performed. In reality, this clause has been carried down from the General Borough Law of 1851 almost intact and reflects a time when the mayor presided over council, directed borough activities, and heard cases involving borough ordinances. While this clause has been retained, over the years all implementing authority has been granted to Borough Council.
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Page Updated: July 24, 2007