Luzerne County council

Our Endorsement: Luzerne County Council

November 2

Our Endorsements for Luzerne County Council

• GIVE LUZERNE COUNTY a fighting chance by voting for these 11 candidates to serve on its first county council.

• James Bobeck

• Elaine Maddon Curry

• Harry Haas

• Eugene Kelleher

• Michael Lacey

• Tim McGinley

• Rick Morelli

• Jeremy Packard

• Stephen A. Urban

• Jane Walsh-Waitkus

• Rick Williams

These men and women, many of whose names and faces might not be familiar to you, are among 28 county residents vying to serve on the 11-person council – a startup group that in January will replace the traditional commissioner trio and take the reins of county government. It’s a massive change for Luzerne County, a chance for a fresh start.

Voters will make their picks Nov. 8, deciding which contenders from the field will get one of the $8,000-per-year council posts.

Choose with care – which is to say, better than some voters did during the May primaries when several stellar candidates were snubbed in favor of certain sub-par and mediocre ones. Since then, the field has been further shuffled by the addition of third-party candidates.

Bottom line: There’s still an opportunity for voters to install a sensational county council; there’s also a chance they’ll blow it by resorting to old habits.

If you vote for a county council candidate solely because of his or her political party affiliation, you could be making a mistake. Ditto if your decision is based purely on geography; just because the candidate lives in your corner of the county, doesn’t make him or her capable of doing this job.

In fact, if you vote for someone simply because the candidate is a former classmate or a coach, a fellow club member or a coworker, a “friend of a friend” or the photogenic sort, you could be setting up the county for all kinds of trouble.

At this critical time in its history, as it tries to recover from stunning corruption and staggering debt, Luzerne County will not be best served by a full Democratic slate. Or the full Republican slate. Or the union-backed slate. Or any other pre-packaged, pre-approved, agenda-oriented “team” of candidates.

Luzerne County needs independent-thinking, reform-minded leaders to serve on council. It needs moderate voices, people who are willing to listen to – and consider – a variety of viewpoints. It needs people with relevant experience in running businesses and overseeing big operations. (This is, after all, a county government with nearly 1,700 workers and an annual budget of about $125 million.)

Most important, Luzerne County needs council members who are brainy but not lacking in common sense.

The Times Leader’s endorsement board feels these 11 candidates fit the bill perfectly. They are the best-suited of the bunch to represent Luzerne County’s 300,000-plus residents.

The council’s initial members will tackle the arduous task of implementing the home rule charter approved by voters last year. They will be responsible for hiring a county manager, someone with the enormous responsibility of running the county’s day-to-day operations.

Council members also will appoint area residents to Luzerne County’s many critical authorities, board and commissions. Each month, they’ll convene at least two public meetings to conduct the public’s business: approving a county budget, its tax rate, union contracts and policies.

The new council members should not – indeed, under the rules of the charter, dare not – micromanage, interfering in the workaday tasks of county employees.

The 11 council posts, although considered “part-time offices,” will be nothing of the sort for several months, even years, if the officeholders are truly intent on getting Luzerne County on solid footing.

Can other council contenders, those who didn’t get our recommendation, do an admirable job? No doubt. The field includes many fine people with keen understandings of the issues.

Are there a few entrants who, while perhaps well-intentioned, probably don’t belong in this race? Afraid so.

Our endorsement board’s members can say this with authority, having interviewed all of the candidates who accepted invitations to meet with us in the spring (46 of them), and again this month (24 of them). We asked them about their educational backgrounds and careers. We questioned them on potential conflicts of interest, basic county operations and their views on a variety of important subjects: contract negotiations, county services and debt. (You can view these interviews by visiting www.timesleader.com.)

To identify the best of the best for these important council offices, The Times Leader devoted more staff time and effort this year than any other news outlet. We did it because The Times Leader had vigorously advocated for home rule’s adoption last year and we want to see this new style government succeed.

We did it because it’s part of our public service mission to provide thoughtful endorsements.

We winnowed the field of contenders to this 11 because we care deeply about this county, its reputation and its residents’ welfare. We did it, frankly, because we live here, too. And we desperately want good government.

We hope you do as well.

Vote wisely.

 

The Other Candidates

These 17 council candidates didn’t win our endorsement board’s support but they did earn our respect merely for running: Michelle Bednar, Brian Bergman (who did not interview during October with The Times Leader), Edward Brominski, Michael Cabell, Kathleen Dobash, Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt (did not interview), Blythe Evans III (did not interview), Charles Hatchko, William “Bill” James, Salvatore Licata, Linda McClosky Houck, M. Theresa Morcavage, Tim Mullen, Gina Nevenglosky (did not interview), John Ruckno, Eileen Sorokas and Stephen J. Urban.

Cabell


Houck


Ruckno


Licata

Mullen


Hatchko

James


Brominski


Bednar


Dobash

Luzerne County’s home rule charter, approved by voters in November 2010, was intended, in part, to promote greater citizen participation and interest in county government. If this race is any measure, the charter has succeeded.

Please, stay involved.

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