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Tyrone mayor announces resignation

Fink confirms he will leave position at start of next month

A few days after he said he would not seek re-election this year, Tyrone Borough Mayor William Fink confirmed he will resign his position at the start of next month.

“I’m stuck,” Fink said Friday. “I just cannot get down there and do what I need to do.”

Fink previously cited family concerns as his reason for not seeking re-election. The same circumstances led him to the decision to resign, he said.

Fink first won the mayor seat in 2009 and won a second four-year term in 2013. On Friday, he thanked his supporters.

“I’m very happy, and I’m truly honored to have served them as mayor,” he said. “You can’t please all the people all the time, but you can try to please most of them.”

Among his proudest achievements, Fink listed efforts to reduce the size of a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood plain.

In August 2014, more than 40 homes were removed from the floodplain, drastically reducing high insurance costs for those properties. And ongoing work could see more homes removed, Fink said.

“I strongly believe this is going to make a tremendous difference,” he said.

Fink’s resignation marks the second time a council member has stepped down in less than a year.

In December, former Councilwoman Christy Ray gave up her seat when she moved to a home outside of the borough.

When a council member resigns, remaining members are tasked with choosing their replacements. Council members are slated to select Ray’s replacement from a number of applicants at an upcoming meeting.

Eventually, the same process will allow council members to select a replacement for the mayor, Borough Manager Phyllis Garhart said.

In Tyrone, the mayor is a voting member of council, who is also considered “head of borough government,” according to the borough’s Home Rule Charter.

Two sitting councilmen already confirmed they’d be running for mayor in this year’s elections. Now, they said they also will seek to be appointed to the seat.

Any qualified borough resident can apply to be appointed mayor, borough solicitor Dan Stants said.

“I will be one of those citizens,” Council Vice President William Latchford said of his plans to vie for the mayor’s seat.

Latchford was first appointed to fill a council vacancy in the mid-1990s before going on to win re-election. Now, he has been a council member for more than 20 years.

To outspoken Councilman Charles Mills Sr., who also plans to apply for the spot, that experience means little.

“He’s been on council for more than 20 years, and he hasn’t made a difference, yet,” Mills said.

Still, Latchford argued that his repeated success in elections seems to prove his constituents recognize his leadership.

“I always try to come up with new ideas for the town,” Latchford said, mentioning specifically his efforts to encourage the construction of a skateboard park.

Mills, a Vietnam veteran and retired police officer, was elected to council in 2015. He said he believes he’ll defeat his competitors this year, as well.

“I’ve dedicated my whole life to the community,” he said. “I think I have an excellent chance.”

Council likely won’t vote on filling the mayor’s seat until at least May, Stants said.

Both Fink’s and Ray’s seats are up for re-election this year. Anyone appointed to fill their seats will only serve until the end of their current terms — Dec. 31.

If they want to stay in office past Dec. 31, those appointed will have to win in this year’s elections.

Latchford and Mills previously expressed interest in that mayoral race.

As of Friday afternoon, Mills was the only person to file a petition for the mayoral race, according to the Blair County Elections Office.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.

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