Democrats Dixon, Thomas, Hogan announce for Plymouth Borough Council

Apr. 23—PLYMOUTH — Bill Dixon, John Thomas and Tom Hogan announced they are candidates for the Democratic nomination for Plymouth Borough Council in the May 16 Primary.

Dixon is seeking re-election to a four-year term. He has been on council for 11 years and currently serves as vice president of council.

"I have been a resident of Plymouth for 42 years and am married to the former Janet Flynn, a lifelong borough resident," Dixon said. "We have two children and three grandchildren."

Dixon is a U.S. Army veteran, having served with the 101st Airborne and 1st Infantry in the Vietnam War.

Retiring from UGI Electric Division in 2014 after 28 years of employment, Dixon held numerous positions in the company, from working at the generation plant to lab technician to substation maintenance.

He has been active in youth sports organizations for 34 years in either coaching, leadership, or fundraising activities for intramural, mini football, girl's softball and Little League.

Dixon said he was instrumental in obtaining the funding and installation of the lights at the Little League Field on Barnes Street. He said he organized the first chapter of Babe Ruth Softball in Plymouth in 2003. He is also an active member of Plymouth Alive for 16 years, liaison for Council for the Recreation Board, and a life member of the Plymouth VFW Post 1425.

"My number one priority is public safety with continued improvement to police and fire services. I will continue to work to demolish blighted and unsafe structures and at the same time work with council and community on the revitalization of our town, moving it forward in a positive direction."

Dixon added, "I pledge to continue to improve the quality of life for our residents and welcome any resident's questions or inquiries regarding my future plans for our Borough."

John Thomas

Incumbent Democratic Councilman John Z. Thomas said he brings with him a lifetime of public service. He served on the Plymouth Borough Police Department for decades, rising from patrolman to chief of police. During his tenure as chief of police, he had the honor to be named first president of the Mid-Valley Drug Task Force, which included 30 municipal police departments including Wilkes-Barre City. The narcotics unit made countless arrests and aided in successful prosecutions.

Thomas retired from the Plymouth Police Department in 1998 and then entered the field of private security and investigations. He was Security Supervisor at Techneglas until the Jenkins Township plant closed in 2005.

Additional service, besides his nine-year tenure on Plymouth Council, includes being the town's code enforcement officer from 2006 to 2014. Other publicly held positions from Thomas's 50-plus years of service include EMA director and recycling coordinator.

Thomas was educated at Wyoming Valley West High School, Luzerne County Community College, Wilkes University, along with police training schools under the auspices of the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania State Attorney General.

His affiliations include vice president of Plymouth Alive, Plymouth Public Library Board of Directors, Nanticoke Lodge 332, F&AM; Irem Shriners, Dallas; Notre Dame Club of Wyoming Valley; Susquehanna River Watch Coalition; Wyoming Valley Lodge 36, Fraternal Order of Police, and Luzerne County Chiefs of Police Association, of which he was a past president.

Thomas and his running mates, Bill Dixon and Tom Hogan, have pledged to continue to improve the quality of life for Plymouth residents.

When Thomas ran for council in 2019, he made the statement "Public Safety is our No. 1 priority," and he said his record proves that he has delivered on that statement.

Over the past four years, Thomas has served as the council liaison to the police department and has actively advocated for and voted to increase the Plymouth Police Department to the largest force of full-time officers that the borough has maintained since 1974.

In his past nine years on council, Thomas said more than $2 million dollars in grants has been obtained and many additional grant applications are still outstanding.

Thomas said he plans to continue to improve Plymouth every way he can.

Tom Hogan

Thomas Hogan is the son of Eileen (Finnegan) Hogan and Patrick Hogan. He is currently engaged to Suzanne Pickering.

A graduate of Holy Redeemer High School, King's College and the Syracuse University College of Law, he now practices law as an associate attorney with the Law Office of Thomas A. O'Connor, P.C.

He also presently serves as president of the Plymouth Rotary Club, and is a member of the Wilkes-Barre Law Library Associations Young Lawyers Division and W-B Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

Hogan is seeking re-election after being appointed to a term and has made cleaning up blighted properties and ensuring adequate police support in the borough as his top priorities.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.