Luzerne County Study Commission rejects districts, debates election board

Luzerne County’s Government Study Commission voted Thursday to continue electing all council members countywide instead of carving out regional districts for some seats.

Commission members also started sharing their views on the composition of the county’s election board.

The seven-citizen commission is assessing potential county home rule charter changes and aims to place its proposal on the November 2025 ballot. Voters will then decide whether to switch to the new structure or keep the system in effect since January 2012.

Districts

Commission Secretary Ted Ritsick had presented exploratory maps envisioning three, four, five and seven districts that he compiled with assistance from the county’s GIS/Mapping Department and Election Bureau.

Earlier this month, several commission members expressed concerns about districts.

The six commission members in attendance Thursday all voted against adding districts, including Ritsick. Commission member Matt Mitchell was absent.

Chairman Tim McGinley and Vice Chairman Vito Malacari thanked Ritsick for his extensive research.

Malacari said he does not believe the county is ready for districts at that time, and the commission is “running out of time” to complete its work. Ritsick’s work could provide the groundwork if a future study commission wants to reconsider districts, he said.

Ritsick said he’d like further discussion but agrees the commission must invest its remaining time completing a revised charter for citizens.

The commission agreed to Ritsick’s proposal to add more meetings in coming months.

Election Board

Prior to home rule, the county’s three elected commissioners served as the election board.

The charter created an election board of five citizens. The 11-member council appoints four of the five — two Democrats and two Republicans. Those four council-appointed members then select someone of any affiliation or no affiliation to fill the fifth seat and also serve as chair.

The board provides general supervision over elections, certifies results and makes determinations on the tallying of flagged ballots during post-election adjudication.

Various election board changes have been suggested in recent months by presenters invited to appear before the commission, including:

• Empowering council to fill the fifth seat.

• Requiring the four council-appointed members to select an Independent or unaffiliated voter for the fifth chair seat.

• Adding two council members (one Democrat, one Republican) and the county manager to the board as non-voting members.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo submitted a recommendation to the commission Thursday, which McGinley read publicly, suggesting a board of two county council members and three citizens appointed by council (one Democrat, one Republican and one Independent).

Crocamo said this configuration would provide bipartisan citizen “perspectives and expertise” and input from elected representatives who are “directly responsible for representing the interests and concerns of the community.”

Commission member Stephen J. Urban said a solution may be placing the county manager or his/her administration designee in the fifth seat. He reasoned this would “improve continuity” because the manager has a solid understanding of staffing and finances and must keep council informed.

Commission member Mark Shaffer said he would keep the current composition, describing it as “the best part of our charter.”

Bipartisan cooperation is necessary for at least three of the four council-appointed citizens — a majority — to choose the fifth member, Shaffer said. He does not support mandating an Independent or unaffiliated voter to fill the fifth seat, predicting there would be struggles finding a sufficient number to apply.

Shaffer also believes voters oppose adding elected officials or administrators to the board.

Malacari said he likes the current process of four board members selecting the fifth member and sees merit in the proposal to require someone not a Democrat or Republican to fill that seat. He said he is confident viable applicants could be found.

The county’s current voter registration: 89,977 Republicans, 84,439 Democrats and 28,462 of other or no affiliation.

Malacari said he has reservations about including elected officials on the board but is open to considering Urban’s idea to have the county manager fill the chairmanship seat.

Ritsick also said Urban’s suggestion is worth exploring because the manager is hired by a majority-plus-one of council and is tasked to carry out nonpartisan and effective county governance. The manager’s perspective could ensure the board is consistently administering the law, he said.

Malkemes, the commission treasurer, concurred with Shaffer’s position and said placing elected officials or a county employee on the board would be a “mistake.” She said election problems that occurred in the past stemmed from the election bureau, not the board, and believes the current structure should remain intact.

Based on the discussion, McGinley said the consensus appears to be keeping the board at five members and continuing to require council to appoint four citizens. More discussion is necessary on the fifth seat, he said.

McGinley said he sees both sides but believes the “cleanest” solution would be filling the fifth seat with a citizen not belonging to either major political party.