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WILKES-BARRE — The selection of former Luzerne County Councilman Eugene Kelleher’s replacement is now up to nine council members because Councilman Robert Schnee is abstaining due to a conflict.
Assistant solicitor Shannon Crake-Lapsansky announced Schnee’s abstention Tuesday before council publicly interviewed five Republicans interested in filling the vacant term through Jan. 6. Schnee was not in attendance and could not immediately be reached for comment on the specifics.
Others familiar with the situation said Schnee has a business relationship with applicant Anthony Ryba Jr., who works as Hazleton Area School District assistant superintendent. Schnee’s wife also works under Ryba at Hazleton Area.
Rick Morelli, another applicant for the vacant seat, said during his interview he helped Schnee with his campaign finance report by serving as treasurer, noting he did not donate any money to Schnee’s campaign. Morelli also said he was a distant cousin of Councilman Chris Perry. Neither should rise to the level of a conflict, Morelli said.
All applicants were asked if they had any relationship with council members or county administrators.
At Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck’s request, council also asked applicants if they have “common residence” with council members or county administrators.
The reason for that addition became obvious during Ryba’s interview, when he told council the county’s Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo resides with his family. Crocamo already had disclosed that she was Ryba’s sister-in-law because she abstained from handling any inquiries involving the vacancy.
None of the other candidates — Reed J. Dunn Jr., Michael G. Vacendak and Frank Wojtash — cited a relationship.
McClosky Houck, Harry Haas and Stephen A. Urban were absent from Tuesday’s interviews, but McClosky Houck requested a recording of the session to prepare for a vote.
At least six council votes are required to select an appointee under the county’s home rule charter.
All five applicants expressed positive feedback about the county’s customized home rule structure, which replaced three elected commissioners with 11 part-time elected council members and an appointed manager.
Morelli, 48, of Sugarloaf Township, who works in software sales and has an MBA in finance, said he applied because he supports home rule and was involved from its start serving on the elected commission that drafted the charter, the transition committee and county council from 2012 through 2015.
He said he is ready for upcoming 2020 budget discussions because he voted on five budgets as a councilman.
“I feel I bring a lot to the table,” Morelli said.
Dunn, 85, of Jenkins Township, said he worked in the public sector most of his life and was responsible for budgeting, financial management and personnel. He was director of the York County Planning Commission from 1965 through 2000.
A lifelong Pennsylvania resident, Dunn said he has no agenda and would be a team player.
“I believe, if selected, I could contribute from day one,” said Dunn, who has a master’s degree in geography.
Ryba, 48, of Conyngham, has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in business administration and said he has extensive experience as a 25-year district employee creating and managing budgets, overseeing construction projects and amicably resolving union contracts and other labor matters.
“I think I could bring some ideas to the table,” Ryba said, describing the upcoming budget season as a “critical” time in county government.
Vacendak, 71, of Laflin, said he has experience in business and assessment as the broker of record at Central Real Estate Sales and Appraisals in Wilkes-Barre.
A certified residential appraiser, Vacendak said he wants to explore options to reduce expenses while keeping departments functional. His six years in the U.S. Army taught him the value of teamwork, discipline and listening to multiple viewpoints to reach a compromise, he said.
“I guarantee without any doubt I could bring some good things to the council that will help in the future,” Vacendak said.
Wojtash, 22, of Plains Township, said he works hard and can share his knowledge of government workings at all levels obtained through his bachelor’s degree in government, law and national security.
He had worked for six years at the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center and said he wants to “make the county a better place. Some local children are living in homeless shelters, and many “can’t make ends meet,” he said.
“I want to do whatever I can to help those people out,” he said.
