DP News

November 4, 2009

Skumanick out as Wyoming County DA

By Mauri Rapp tunktimes.com Correspondent

Wyoming County’s incumbent district attorney was defeated last night in a surprise victory for his successor, according to unofficial election results.

Republican candidate George Skumanick, who was seeking his sixth term as Wyoming County D.A., lost to Tunkhannock attorney Jeff Mitchell, the Democratic candidate, by 493 votes. Mitchell received 54 percent of the vote while Skumanick received 46 percent.

Mitchell said he was pleasantly shocked at his victory against the longtime D.A. “I didn’t expect that kind of return,” he said.

Skumanick recently made national headlines after threatening to file child pornography charges against several teens from Tunkhannock Area School District over a sexting, or sending sexually explicit messages or photos between cell phones, scandal at the school. Skumanick was subsequently sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for violating three of the teens’ “freedom of expression rights.”

The national attention generated by the incident could have played a part in Mitchell’s victory, he said.

“I think the people were concerned with the media circus that it created,” he said, adding that he did not feel that many necessarily disagreed with Skumanick’s decision to offer a sexual harassment education program to the teens involved. “I don’t think people were against the program, but I think they were displeased that the incident generated so much attention from the media.”

Mitchell ran on a platform of education for victims as well as children to help them understand their rights and the criminal court system. He said that, although the recent sexting incident in Tunkhannock reaffirmed his belief that children need more education about criminal court, he has always been a strong believer in this type of education. “My concern is that many children just don’t understand how the system works,” said Mitchell. “Many think that once they turn 18, their record will be wiped clean.

“They need to realize that their actions could follow them for the rest of their lives,” he added.

Mitchell currently serves as Chief Public Defender of Sullivan County and operates a private criminal law practice in Tunkhannock.

Also in Wyoming County, Norm Ball will retain his position as Tunkhannock’s mayor. Ball won a narrow victory over challenger John Belcher by only 18 votes.

In the Tunkhannock Area School Board, the district will see several new faces. Democrat/Republican candidate Stephen Colley and Republican Donald Nowels won seats in Region 1 of the district, defeating Democrat Angelo Sabbatini. In Region 2, Democrat/Republican candidate William Kropa won a two-year term seat, joining incumbent Martin Migliori who was reelected to a four year term on the board. Migliori also ran on both the Democrat and Republican tickets. In Region 3, Democrat Mick Cronin will join incumbent Republican Robert J. Parry.

At Lackawanna Trail School District, Region 2 candidate Judith Johnson will retain her seat on the school board. Johnson ran on both party tickets and currently serves as the board’s secretary.

A complete listing of unofficial results can be found here.

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