David Clemson, 59, of Pitt Street is running for a spot-on the Republican ballot for the office of mayor of Tamaqua.

A 1983 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, Clemson joined the U.S. Navy right after high school and was stationed at the Pentagon and U.S. Embassy duty in Seoul, Korea.

After being honorably discharged from the Navy he attended Lehigh Carbon Community College, where he obtained his Associate Degree in criminal justice.

Clemson spent 23½ years working for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Department of Corrections at SCI-Frackville. Clemson retired in 2016 at the rank of captain.

He has lived in Tamaqua his entire life, except for the time in the military. He is married to Terry Abrams of Girardville. Between the two of them they have four children and four grandchildren.

He is the son of the late Theodore and Barbara Clemson.

Clemson wishes to work closely with the borough council to continue with the project of the moving of the police station and the new community center.

He wants to work side by side with local, state and federal officials to help get funding for first responders, such as the police, fire police, firefighters and ambulance personnel.

Clemson believes our first responders are a huge asset to our community and they deserve the best equipment and training that can be provided. He wishes to work with the many fine organizations in town, to help them grow within the community. He wants to be the ears and the voice of the people of Tamaqua.

He wants to work closely with council to upgrade the parks in town and possibly have a dog park built for four-legged friends in the community to enjoy themselves.

Clemson believes volunteerism is huge to a community, and by helping others and doing things in your own community makes for a better town to live in.

“Tamaqua is an awesome town; let’s keep moving forward by working together with one another,” he said.