Many analysts believe that to be successful in politics you sometimes need a gimmick, especially if you are a relative unknown in the political arena. It could be a catch phrase such as ex-President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” or something else that grabs prospective voters’ attention and resonates with them.

In my more than 60 years of covering local politics, I haven’t seen too many of these, or very few that were particularly successful. But one pledge from newly elected State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh and Bucks, whose only previous political experience was a short stint on the Parkland School Board, may have won him enough votes in his close race with veteran Pat Browne to capture the seat from the 28-year legislative veteran. Coleman won the 2022 Republican primary over Browne by a mere 19 votes, then went on to defeat the Democratic nominee handily in the General Election.

Coleman promised that if elected, he would refuse to collect the taxpayer-funded state pension to which he would be entitled after 10 years of state service. “I have kept that promise,” he said in his weekly newsletter. “Families are facing increased costs, and workers are struggling to fund their own retirements; they don’t need to be paying for those of legislators, too.” His office said that the paperwork refusing the defined-benefit pension was filed with the State Employees’ Retirement System, which maintains the pension plans of lawmakers and state employees.

The average pension payment for members of the State Employees’ Retirement System is a little more than $24,000 a year.

This pledge reminded me of another, which I still view as ingenious even though it was concocted nearly 60 years ago. At the time, political newcomer Carl M. Yost of Kunkletown, Monroe County, was a young local real estate auctioneer who was earning his stripes in this specialized field.

Yost died last month at the age of 79 in West Virginia where he spent his latter days. Although he loved the once ultra rural West End of Monroe County, he felt that it was becoming overdeveloped, and, according to his partner of 50 years, Jack Muehlhan of Stroudsburg, when a McDonald’s was built in Brodheadsville that was the last straw. Yost moved his family to rural West Virginia where they could enjoy the simpler joys of life.

I encountered Yost when I was news, program and sports director of WVPO (now WSBG) in Stroudsburg and later as Monroe County Bureau Chief of The Express (now The Express-Times) newspaper in Easton. Being a collector of antiques and collectibles, I also attended some of his auctions.

Although he had an odd-sounding voice, and some considered him as a colorful, slightly oddball local character, he was knowledgeable and personable. He was well-traveled, well-versed on local, state and national politics and decided that he wanted to take a shot at one of Monroe’s row offices - register of wills and recorder of deeds. Back then, when Monroe’s population was about one-quarter of today’s 169,000, the seventh-class county combined these two offices whereas today, with Monroe being a fourth-class county, they are separate.

When Yost sought the office, the Poconos were in the midst of an incredible second-home growth spurt. The political office generated commissions which were approaching $27,000 a year, according to Muehlhan. Yost considered this excessive, so he promised to accept just $8,500 if elected, which he said would satisfy his modest needs.

Many local politicians scoffed at this notion, but Yost had the last laugh and was elected over more well-known candidates. In Pennsylvania, an office-holder cannot just refuse to accept the compensation and return it without also paying the income taxes on the amount, so Yost phrased his pledge so that he would accept the $8,500 and whatever the taxes were on the rest. It was an unheard of pledge, because these offices were largely filled through political patronage, even nepotism, back in those bad old days.

Yost, who also was an attorney, served as an Eldred Township supervisor and as a school teacher for a year. He made unsuccessful tries for judge of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas and state Superior Court.

Yost had an unusual recall ability. He did a program for service organizations in the Stroudsburg area where he displayed this talent. On one occasion where I was present, he was able to identify 25 people after having heard their names and seen them just once. He explained that he was able to associate physical characteristics of each, which allowed him to recall their names.

A deeply religious man, Yost, a Lutheran, would quote biblical verse from time to time to emphasize a point. He also quoted well-known statesmen and personalities.

His family made this observation: “Anyone who knew dad was touched by his intellect, his respectful nature and a knack for analyzing the world around him, from the mundane to the amazing.”

Yost was buried Jan. 18 following services in Brodheadsville.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com