Pottsville appoints Catherine Mahon to council
Catherine Mahon was appointed to fill the vacant council seat vacated by William Messaros when he was appointed mayor during council’s monthly meeting Monday night.
Mahon, who is a staff sergeant in the 904th Engineer and Facilities Detachment of the United States Army reserves, revealed in an interview with CC Broadcasting staff that she submitted a letter of interest because:
“I went through a lot working with the city, working with local businesses because I was fixing my house and starting a business.”
She clarified, “There is no clear path for people who need help from, like, the government or the community, and I just feel that’s something I can try and help people with. I really don’t want people to struggle the way that I struggled.”
Once appointed, Mahon would be immediately sworn in by Mayor Messaros before then signing her oath of office, and then taking her seat on council.
“I was not expecting everything to happen today,” she stated. Going further, she said, “I was expecting more back and forth…”
On her appointment, she spoke, saying, “Not everyone was there, I was really hoping to have unanimous full backing from people, I guess that’s what everybody wants, but I just kinda want to be mission-oriented.”
She then expressed how she hopes to “accomplish a lot,” before specifying that in the case she couldn’t, she could “ at least want to make sure I’m documenting and making it easier for the people who come after me to make change.”
It was also during her meeting that she addressed those in attendance, citing a priority of her term to restore a sense of community to Pottsville. She also cited blight and improving transparency and communication as priorities during the remainder of the term.