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Five running for county prothonotary

All candidates want to restore honesty and integrity to the office in which the incumbent resigned.

By Sheena Delazio sdelazio@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

WILKES-BARRE -- The five candidates vying for the four-year term of Luzerne County prothonotary have one thing in common: Restoring the honesty and integrity to the office and county.

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Akulonis

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McGinley Bellas

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And though many of their plans for the office are similar, each candidate couldn’t be more different in their backgrounds and experience.

Democrats Gerald Mullery, Nancy McGinley Bellas and Alfred Akulonis, Jr. and Republicans Carolee Medico Olenginski and Walter Mitchell all agree if they are elected prothonotary, the county’s keeper of civil records, they would make files available online, be in the office full-time and work hard for the citizens of Luzerne County.

Mullery, 38, an attorney from Newport Township, had previously run for the position in 2001, and was beaten by former prothonotary, Jill Moran, who recently resigned from the post.

Medico Olenginski, of Mountain Top, served as prothonotary from 1998 to 2002, and ran again, but was unseated by Moran.

Moran resigned from the seat after seven years of service because of an agreement with federal prosecutors. In addition to resigning, the stipulation requires her to provide complete and full cooperation in the investigation into alleged fraud at the county courthouse.

Three other candidates serve local citizens other ways: Mitchell as mayor of Bear Creek Village, Akulonis as Duryea council president and McGinley Bellas, who has been a registered nurse for the past 33 years.

“I have a proven record of courage and independence to fight corruption and to restore order to the office,” Medico Olenginski, who along with her husband Dr. Jan Olenginski, have eight children and 18 grandchildren.

Medico Olenginski, 65, says she was a “major threat” to Moran in 2001, and that Moran spent over a quarter of a million dollars to unseat her.

Medico Olenginski says she’d continue what she started in the prothonotary’s office by updating computer systems to make filed available on the Internet; that she would be in the office full time since she is retired and has no other work obligations; and would hire only qualified candidates.

Mullery, who has been an attorney handling workers compensation, personal injury and insurance claims for the past 11 years, said he’s qualified for the job because of his experience as an attorney and with working with 25 other county prothonotary offices in the state because of his job.

“I’m not a politician. I’m not a power monger. I’m fiercely independent and I see a need that has to be addressed and I feel I have the experience, knowledge and skill set to do it.”

Mullery graduated from Duquesne University where he obtained his juris doctorate, and King’s College with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Mullery is married to the former Michele Mech, and the couple have three children, Leah, 9; Lauren 7; Liam, 3 and Louden, 1.

Mitchell, who is owner/operator of Mitchell Financial Group in Wilkes-Barre, is the first and still the only mayor of Bear Creek Village, and said he is running for office because he wants to stop the “culture of corruption in Luzerne County government by bringing honor, integrity and transparency to the office.”

“I intend to apply proven, sound business practices to the office by detailing expectations to the rank and file, holding employees accountable for their performance and the rewarding excellence,” Mitchell said, adding he would form a group of advisors to consult on matters within the office to avoid bias.

Mitchell, 65, who graduated from Mercersburg Academy and Lafayette College, is married to the former Constance Hemenway. The couple has one son, David.

Akulonis, 47, is a graduate of King’s College where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice and is currently employed at Step by Step in Wilkes-Barre in the children’s behavioral health department.

“I feel that this job is so important that the person who wins … should realize that it is a full-time position and it shouldn’t be taken as a part-time job,” Akulonis said. “If I’m elected, I’m going to commit to this job 100 percent.”

Akulonis has served on the Duryea Borough Council for six years, and is also president of the board of directors of the Lower Lackawanna Valley Sanitary Authority.

McGinley Bellas, 56, of Kingston, said since she has been a nurse for more than 30 years, she has the skills it will take to run the prothonotary office.

“I have demonstrated the attributes of accessibility, accountability and adaptability on a daily basis,” McGinley Bellas said. “I will be accessible to the public and their needs; accountable to all the people of Luzerne County; and adaptable to the changes necessary to bring improves outcomes to this office.”

McGinley Bellas, who has been married to her husband, Allen, for 32 years and is the mother of Bryan, Patrick and Kayleen, is employed at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton and works in the gastroenterology department and emergency room.

“I think people want someone they can trust. Nurses are someone they can trust – we act as a patient advocate,” McGinley Bellas said.

“I can do that as a prothonotary. I feel (nursing and county prothontary) are very similar,” she said.