SUNBURY — Twenty years after winning his first election as mayor and four years after losing his fifth re-election bid to Mayor Jesse C. Woodring, David L. Persing is throwing his hat back into the ring in pursuit of the city’s top job.

He’ll face Democratic challenger and city bar owner Scott Johnson.

“I just thought the city wasn’t going in the right direction, and I thought with my past experience, I could improve on that,” Persing, 58, said recently about his decision to run for office again.

One of his first priorities, if elected, would to bring the community back into the fold when it comes to city endeavors, and as part of that, Persing vowed to bring back his annual State of the City Address.

“It’s not a community effort anymore,” Persing said, pointing to work in Cameron Park that he said did not take into account the opinions of longtime park contributor Gary Leister. “You’re better off getting different ideas even if you don’t agree with them.”

Johnson would like to see the city develop a marketing campaign that would promote what the city has to offer, from recreational venues to business opportunities.

“The city is putting $1 million into its downtown, and we haven’t done $1,000 worth of advertising,” Johnson said. “You can see the effects going on, but unless you’re driving through downtown Sunbury, you’re very unaware.”

Johnson also supports resurrecting the city’s redevelopment authority as a way of improving city properties.

Defunct since 2007, the authority in the past offered grants to first-time home buyers. Johnson would like to see a new authority use seed money — a grant or a loan — to purchase and rehabilitate properties and put them back on the market.

“It creates a better tax base,” Johnson said.

Persing supports bringing a community college to the city, whether it’s on Market Street or not.

“We could never be able to put up the (money) being looked at today, but I would guarantee a 100 percent effort from the city in any way that we could help. The economic impact would be huge,” Persing said. “This would lead to many positive improvements within the City of Sunbury for many years to come.”

Johnson also supports a city-centered community college, but wants it on Market Street.

“It almost needs to be downtown,” Johnson said, in order to foster the highest level of economic development.

Persing also hopes to see a hotel/convention center in the city, whether it‘s built new or put into one of the city’s vacant buildings. It’s a dream the former mayor has long supported.