John Samus was appointed Nazareth mayor by borough council after Carl Strye's resignation amid theft charges.
Keep things moving in the right direction. That's the goal of Nazareth's new mayor.
Borough council voted Tuesday to unanimously approve the appointment of Councilman John Samus as mayor, shortly after Carl Strye resigned via a letter sent to council.
Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said last month that Strye's resignation is a requirement to gain his recommendation for entry in the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program, which would clear a felony theft charge from the former mayor's record.
Strye is accused of stealing $8,000 from small games of chance and illegal poker from the social hall of Vigilance Hose Co. in the borough.
Carl Strye resigns, citing 'my issue'
Samus, who will be sworn-in officially as mayor later this week, will finish the mayoral term that ends Dec. 31, 2017.
Council President Dan Chiavaroli said Samus is a good choice because he can step in as mayor and provide "continuity."
There has been some progress made in the borough, particularly with the police department, Chiavaroli said, and Samus, who has been involved at the council level, can hit the ground running.
"He's a hometown boy. He's level-headed," Chiavaroli said.
Samus has been a borough resident since 1976. He agreed with Chiavaroli that the police department is heading in the right direction and it will be his goal to maintain that momentum.
Mayors in Pennsylvania boroughs provide oversight of their municipal police departments.
A scathing August 2015 report criticized the Nazareth Police Department on a number of levels, including poor internal communication and organization, and having too few officers to safely patrol.
This year, council created the position of police commissioner and brought in former county sheriff and Bethlehem police commissioner Randall Miller to fill that job. It also hired two full-time officers in June and is accepting applications for another full-time officer.
"Nothing is going to change as far as the direction of the police department," Samus said. "I plan to meet with the chief and the commissioner and express my views."
Council is accepting applications until Sept. 23 to fill Samus' second ward council seat, which runs through 2017.
No one on council chose to comment at Tuesday night's council meeting regarding Strye's resignation and theft charges.
John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
