Luzerne County Election Director Eryn Harvey sorts nomination petitions and other paperwork submitted by May 16 primary election candidates on Tuesday, which was the filing deadline.
Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
The roster of Luzerne County Council candidates is finalized with Tuesday’s nomination petition filing deadline, and there are 19 contenders.
A majority of council seats — six of 11 — are up for grabs this year. In the May 16 primary election, county Republicans and Democrats will each select six nominees to advance to the November general election.
Twelve Republicans filed paperwork to appear on the ballot, which means only half will make it past the primary. The Republican contenders: Carl Bienias III, Anthony Corrado, Thomas Dombroski, Gregory W. Griffin, Harry Haas, Ronald D. Knapp, Vivian Kreidler-Licina, LeeAnn McDermott, Matthew Mitchell, Kimberly Platek, Richard Tihansky and Stephen J. Urban.
Seven Democrats are running, which means all but one will advance to the general election. The Democratic contenders: Joanna Bryn Smith, Patricia Krushnowski, Michelle Rothenbecker, Jimmy Sabatino, Damon Saxon, Brittany Stephenson and Maryanne Velez.
Some basic information about the candidates from their financial interest statements and/or information they have submitted:
Republicans
• Bienias, of Hanover Township, is an attorney and works for a law firm litigating workers’ compensation cases throughout the state. He has served on county council since February 2022, finishing the council term of current Controller Walter Griffith.
• Corrado, of Hazleton, is a school administrator in the Hazleton Area School District and a partner in a Hazleton business — Tony Corrado Tire and Service Center.
• Dombroski, of Dallas Township, has been the president/owner of a commercial real estate rental business in Wilkes-Barre for 30 years.
• Griffin, of Swoyersville, had worked as a municipal police officer and as a corrections officer at the State Correctional Institution at Retreat for 25 years.
• Haas, of Kingston, is a Dallas School District teacher and served on county council from the January 2012 implementation of the home rule structure until the end of 2021.
• Knapp, of Nanticoke, attended the Allied Medical and Technical Institute and has served in the Army Reserves as an administrative specialist.
• Kreidler-Licina, of Nescopeck, is a homemaker.
• McDermott, of Wyoming, is in the fourth year of her first elected term on county council and owns McDermott Real Estate Appraisals in Shavertown.
• Mitchell, of Plains Township, is a GIS coordinator at the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority and has served on county council since June 2022, filling a seat vacated by Robert Schnee.
• Platek, of Sugarloaf Township, works in pharmaceutical sales for Paratek Pharma in King of Prussia.
• Tihansky, of Sugarloaf Township, is an educator in the Hazleton Area School District and a partner in Tihansky’s Auto Repair in Hazleton.
• Urban, of Kingston, is an IT support coordinator for a major food distributor. He is in the fourth year of his elected council term and previously served on council from 2012 through 2015.
Democrats
• Bryn Smith, of Wyoming, is a public interest attorney for The Women’s Resource Center, Barbara J. Hart Justice Center in Scranton.
• Krushnowski, of Wilkes-Barre, has been employed by Verizon for 27 years and is a union steward for IBEW Local 827.
• Rothenbecker, of Bear Creek Township, owns a business, Ruby Run LLC in the township.
• Sabatino, of Butler Township, is manager of Avanti of Drums Inc.
• Saxon, of Wilkes-Barre, is a community specialist for a Philadelphia-based company.
• Stephenson, of Plymouth Township, is a college of student affairs practitioner.
• Velez, of Duryea, is the founder and executive director of the local nonprofit UNA.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
