I want to thank the voters of this Borough for electing me to this office. I will be making decisions that I feel are ultimately best for the Crafton Borough residents.

When I retired from the Crafton Police Department in 2006 after 31 years of service, I felt that my time to serve had been completed. As a life long Crafton resident, I began to see things within the Borough that I felt needed addressed. I decided to run for Borough Council in 2007.  In the two years I served on council we brought about significant changes that affected borough residents in a positive manner. Though I voted in favor of a tax increase, I knew that positive infrastructure improvements would occur. At the end of 2009 Crafton Borough General Find balance is in the black and no ‘tax anticipation’ loan is needed to start 2010. This has not happened in Crafton in many years. I hope that the incoming council keeps an open mind to a common sense approach to governing our community.

The personal safety of a community depends on a strong Public Safety Administration. Police, Fire, and EMS are vital to every citizen and visitor. As your new Mayor, my mission will be to ensure that your police officers are on the streets 24/7. The officers WILL be friendly, knowledgeable, proactive, and vigilant to needs of everyone. I plan on upsetting the ‘status quo’ applecart. The police will enforce all laws equally. Drug enforcement will move from non-existent to a prime concern for this community. I will be a vocal advocate in all phases of public safety. The citizens Crafton Crime Watch Program will continue with the help and advice of our police officers. Reporting of suspicious activity by our residents will be strongly encouraged and all reports to the police WILL be investigated.  The D.A.R.E. program will continue. It is essential that our children be educated on the dangers of drugs and alcohol both in the schools and at home. I will be vocal to ensure that our residents receive the best fire and EMS services available. I will be available to all citizens via email or phone.

James G. Bloom, Mayor