Rebuilding our political clout

For three decades, Rep. Bob Belfanti has represented our area in the halls of the state Capitol. Like him or not, he has been our representative elected by majority of the popular vote. As his career has wound down, he could have taken the easier road, with health issues plaguing him and a recent brush with death uppermost in his mind. But, Bob Belfanti is resilient and, despite all the reasons to leave the political arena, he has decided to fight one more fight.

Several years ago, I approached Bob with an idea on how we might revitalize our area. The plan itself was based on the development of renewable/alternative energy resources and restoration of our economic condition through environmental stewardship. The idea was bold and, in an area built on the backs of blue-collar workers with a show-me attitude, it was sure to be received with cynicism. Rather than shy away from the idea, however, Bob promoted it. He drew a line in the sand and said it's time the region worked together to try a new approach.

He used much of the political capital he had built up over the previous three decades in the House of Representatives in asking the Democratic Caucus leadership to consider his requests. The leadership's resulting support should be a statement to everyone they have not forgotten our area, despite its lesser population significance.

A close friend of mine recently forwarded me a Web site link to U.S. Census data. Although a bit difficult to data mine, the site has a tremendous amount of information that is very telling. Population peaked in the Lower Anthracite Region between 1910 and 1930. The same is true of most of northeastern Pennsylvania. The population for Shamokin city, Centralia, Mount Carmel, Kulpmont and Marion Heights boroughs, and Coal, Conyngham, East Cameron, West Cameron, Mount Carmel, Ralpho and Zerbe townships in 1920 was 78,627. The population ebbed and flowed slightly between municipalities between 1910 and 1930, but remained fairly constant. With the decline of coal mining, our area's population had dwindled to less than half of that, at 39,239, as of the 2000 Census.

A few interesting comparisons of these statistics include the fact that Ralpho Township, at the turn of the century during peak coal production, had a population of 1,236. Ralpho's population - 3,764 - has more than triple since then.

When looking at population densities in 1920, Northumberland County averaged 90 and over in the number of inhabitants per square mile, which was equivalent to any of the major population centers in the state, including the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, at the time.

The population densities of our own county, as well as Luzerne, Schuylkill, Carbon and Columbia, at one time created a major political and economic force, perhaps greater than Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Make no mistake, though, the underlying key to all of this was the extraction of energy resources from anthracite mines. Coal was plentiful, and it fueled the nation while making our area a political powerhouse. The names of politicians from the turn of the century to the mid-1970s are dotted with the likes of Thomas Kennedy, James Gildea, Bill Scranton, Dan Flood, Bob Casey and others. Our area influenced the politics of Pennsylvania, and our political leaders were a force to be reckoned with.

Today, a unique set of circumstances exists with the leader of the House hailing from Luzerne County, while the speaker is a Carbon County representative; the chairman of both the House and Senate Labor and Industry Committees are own, and one of our U.S. senators is from Scranton. Although these individuals have a responsibility to all of their constituents, they also have an opportunity to assist an area that is beginning to show signs of economic life once again.

Our area's future is predicated on the ability to attract high-tech industry. We can compete in the global economy if we focus our efforts and requests to our political leaders to support endeavors involving the development of renewable and alternative energy resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and clean coal. The attraction of industries associated with these technologies means the attraction of a skilled workforce that would begin to swing the population pendulum in our favor.

Our future lies in the ability to re-educate our own workforce and attract those industries. A cluster of a dozen such industries providing 800 to 1000 high-tech jobs would have a huge impact on our area economically and politically. The creation of these jobs would have an ancillary benefit in creating two to three new jobs in the service industry for each new manufacturing job.

No better time in the past 50 years has existed for the redevelopment of the lower anthracite region. Many factors are in our favor, and much of the groundwork has been laid to revitalize this area. The ultimate challenge will be finding a way to put aside our differences and work together to achieve the common goal of a better life for ourselves and the future generations of this area, which has been and can be an economic and political force in Pennsylvania.

(Bartos is renewable/green energy coordinator for the lower anthracite region through the office of state Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr., D-107. "Green Light" appears every other Thursday.)

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