Luzerne County election director position advertised

Luzerne County publicly advertised the vacant election director position Thursday, with applications due Aug. 11, according to an online posting.

Aug. 11 also is the last scheduled day of work for Michael Susek, who is resigning after eight months in the position to accept other employment outside county government.

Susek is the county’s third election director since Marissa Crispell resigned from the position in September 2019. County Manager Randy Robertson, who started overseeing the county June 13, has said he wants the administration to work with council and the county’s citizen election board to identify issues that may be contributing to turnover.

The position is advertised at $64,500 annually, which is the same compensation that had been paid to Susek and his two predecessors, Bob Morgan and Shelby Watchilla.

Attempting to attract a higher number of applicants, the administration has altered the minimum qualifications.

The position currently requires a high school diploma, management and/or supervisory experience and experience working in elections with some knowledge of state election law.

Following the usual practice, the posting says the county may consider any equivalent combination of acceptable training and experience providing the required knowledge, skills and abilities. A lengthy list of these requirements is included in the posting.

In the past, the county sought at least four years of proven elections management experience and two years of supervisory experience in an elections bureau environment that includes direct experience with electronic voting machines. The minimum education requirement was a high school diploma with some post-secondary education.

Robertson said he supported generalizing the minimum qualifications because he does not want a specific length-of-service requirement to deter viable applicants from seeking the position.

This is a challenging time in general to recruit county election directors due to the divided political climate nationwide, he said. This county faces additional difficulties attracting job seekers due to its high election management turnover and some “visible reputational issues,” he said.

“You never know when you will find just the right person,” Robertson said. “The goal is to bring in the best and brightest.”

Robertson stressed applicants must demonstrate sufficient qualifications to advance to an interview. If he is dissatisfied with the caliber of applicants interviewed, he said he will regroup and continue the search.

While the goal is hiring a director well before the Nov. 8 general election, Robertson reiterated the administration will be prepared to carry out the election with existing staff and support from other departments as always if a new director is not onboard.

The county manager ultimately selects the election director after considering feedback from the election board.

Information on the position is available under the human resources department “career opportunities” section at luzernecounty.org.