Andrew Seder
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader

Tim Mullen, a registered nurse and retired Army reservist, is making it a three-way race for the state 120th Legislative District seat held by Rep. Phyllis Mundy for two decades.

The Kingston Township man on Thursday announced his candidacy on the Libertarian ticket, a party he has been a registered member of since the late ’90s.

While attending a monthly Campaign for Liberty meeting in Edwardsville last fall, he and other attendees listened to a recruiting pitch made by Lou Jasikoff, chairman for the Northeast Libertarian Party.

Jasikoff was looking for candidates for the 2010 election cycle, and Mullen listened but walked away after telling Jasikoff he would consider it.

By the time the two met again, Mullen had made his mind up.

“It was pretty obvious that nobody was going to step up to the plate, so I decided it was going to be me,” Mullen, 51, said.

“I am tired of complaining. I asked myself what can I do. I think this is the most important thing you can do – to give of one self,” the 1976 Wyoming Valley West graduate said.

He has already begun contacting independent voters to explain why he’s running, and he said he’ll soon begin knocking on doors throughout the district, which includes Exeter, Jackson and Kingston townships and Courtdale, Exeter, Forty Fort, Kingston, Luzerne, Pringle, Swoyersville, West Pittston, West Wyoming and Wyoming boroughs.

No members of the Libertarian Party hold an elected state office in Pennsylvania, but Mullen said you can’t change things unless you try.

He said his years in the Army Reserve, which included two tours of duty in Iraq, taught him to be a leader and that leadership means “I’m not afraid to fail. I’m not afraid to try.”

He said his platform includes calls for lower taxes, smaller government and the protection of personal liberties.

Among his driving forces is reducing property taxes by reformulating how they’re generated. He said a bill introduced by state Rep. Sam Rohrer, which calls for using an increased sales tax to offset property taxes, is something he favors.

Mundy, 61, a Democrat, has held the seat since 1990. She has said she will seek another two-year term. West Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy, 55, on Thursday said he will officially announce in a week or two that he is running on the Republican ticket. Goldsworthy has been serving West Pittston for 26 years, 12 as a councilman and the last 14 as mayor.

If no other candidates announce, the May 18th primaries will be a formality and all three will face off in the November general election.

His wife’s name is Margaret, and he works at Manor Care in Kingston. He is a graduate of Luzerne County Community College, where he earned an associate’s degree in nursing.