Jeffrey J. Szczecina, Summit Hill, has announced his candidacy for the position of Summit Hill mayor. He is seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 18 primary.

“I believe my career in law enforcement uniquely qualifies me to hold the office of mayor, which has the responsibility of overseeing the operations of the police department,” Szczecina said.

“I would be proud and honored to represent my hometown. My objective is to provide guidance to the department and to work hand-in-hand with the borough council to provide an efficient and effective government.”

A son of Stanley Szczecina and the late Edith Ann Szczecina, he brings a wealth of law enforcement experience to the campaign. He is a 1985 graduate of Panther Valley High School and a 1990 graduate of Bloomsburg University, where he received a BA degree in sociology/criminal justice and was a member of the university’s baseball team.

Szczecina worked as a correctional officer at the Carbon County prison, and was the counselor/work release director at the facility and a county juvenile probation officer.

He currently serves on the “oral interview review panel” for the Summit Hill Police Department.

In 1992, he received an appointment to the Pennsylvania State Police Academy and went on to serve with the Patrol Unit at the PSP Frackville barracks, the Criminal Investigation Unit at Frackville and as a certified polygraph examiner.

In 2008, Szczecina was promoted to corporal. He supervised the Criminal Investigation Unit at Frackville, served in the PSP Bureau of Integrity and Professional Standards and then supervised the Criminal Investigation Unit of Troop M, Bethlehem, before being honorably discharged in 2017.

Szczecina served as a volunteer baseball coach at Panther Valley High School and started the first “Fall Baseball Program” in the Summit Hill Little League in 2005.

He is a member of the Sons of the American Legion Post 316, and is a Summit Hill appointee to the Coaldale-Lansford-Summit Hill Sewer Authority.

In 2012, the Diligence Fire Company No. 1 named Szczecina its “Volunteer of the Year.”

The candidate is married to Maria (Rutch) Szczecina. They have a son Jake.