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Young leaders emerge on Luzerne County Council

The newly appointed chairwoman and vice-chair are both under the age of 30.

LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — At the age of 27, Kendra Radle says becoming chairwoman for Luzerne County Council isn't scary or intimidating.

"I think it's pretty exciting," said Radle. "I think that before me, people led very status quo. The county has been in great hands. Last night, it was mentioned that the debt has been reduced in the past 10 years by almost half. So, I think that's a testament that people have been doing a great job. But I think with myself and other young people on council like we just have so many big, better ideas. And I think that that's really exciting."

Radle will be joined in a leadership role with 28-year-old John Lombardo, appointed vice-chair of county council.

"I'm extremely happy with the fact that here in Luzerne County, we have more young people elected to office, more people under the age of 40 than anywhere else in the entire state of Pennsylvania," said Lombardo. "It's so exciting. Everybody from you know, borough councils, state reps, mayors, and here on county council, we have more young people under the age of 40 elected than anywhere else in the entire state."

Both tell Newswatch 16 they are eager to work with other members of council to keep people here in Luzerne County and hope to encourage other younger people to enter leadership roles.

"Sometimes, you want a different opinion. You want somebody that maybe has a different perspective on things and how they believe government should work," added Lombardo. "And as young people, I think maybe we have a little bit of a different ideology, a different mindset than some people that are a little bit older in politics. And I think that's a good thing to, you know, meld those opinions and share them and try to see if we can come up with something that's going to make it work for everybody here in Luzerne County."

"I just think like the transparency on council, and with all the council members, there's always been a majority and a minority and things like that, and there's still going to be we all have different opinions on things," said Radle. "But I think as chair like as I get the information, I think that everybody on council should be able to see that information, things from the administration. I just want to be really open and try to be more of a team and have more of a collaborative working relationship with all the members rather than like just working with a majority and a minority."

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