Civilian files ethics complaint against DA over endorsement

The Luzerne County District Attorney’s primary election endorsement of a county council candidate prompted Saylorsburg resident Jason Carr to file an ethics complaint against the DA on Tuesday.

DA Sam Sanguedolce said he is certain he was within his legal rights to endorse county Councilman Matthew Mitchell, who announced the endorsement Monday evening.

Carr, who lives in Monroe County but speaks out about Luzerne County because he owns properties here, cited in his complaint cover letter a section of the county ethics code that says “no covered person shall use the authority or influence of his or her office for the purpose of interfering with the result of an election.”

In the complaint attachment, which Carr also supplied, he referenced a different section of the code that says no covered person shall “use, or attempt to use, his or her position to obtain financial gain, a loan, a contract, license, privilege, or other personal advantage, either direct or indirect.”

“In the future the District Attorney when requesting budget increases to his department and if Mr. Mitchell is reelected can lead to future direct or indirect indiscretions such as voting for a budget according to how the District Attorney sees beneficial (conflict of interest) that may not be in the best interest of the general public because of the ‘endorsement’ by Sanguedolce of Mitchell — as an example,” Carr wrote, asking the commission to immediately rescind the endorsement and reprimand the DA.

DA’s response

Sanguedolce provided this response:

“Initially, this complaint being transmitted to the media before transmission to the Ethics Commission, before it is evaluated, and before it is served on me seems to lead to questions on motive. Since I have been told it deals with the fact that I endorsed a candidate, I know it is completely frivolous. A District Attorney, in an election year above all, has all of the First Amendment rights as every other person and — with the exception of judges — other elected officials such as mayors, legislators, etc.

“In public, I am often approached by residents concerned about the state of our government. Those voters who are not invested in the daily operations of the county, which in reality includes most people, ask my opinion on candidates since I deal with county government on a regular basis.

“As to my involvement in supporting candidates, I believe the time to remain silent and hope for the best has passed. If I can help make something positive happen, I prefer to do so.

“As this matter now involves litigation, I will treat it as such. Nonetheless, I can only hope that, for all officials, a voice used to attempt to improve the state of Luzerne County government is considered, instead of attempted to be silenced.”

What ethics code says

The county ethics code says employees shall have the right to hold membership in a political party, vote, publicly or privately express opinions on political subjects and candidates and participate in political meetings and activities.

Employees must engage in all such activities as private citizens, away from county workplaces, out of uniform and during non‐working hours, says the council-adopted code.

Sanguedolce, a Republican who is seeking reelection with no opponents on the ballot, sent the endorsement letter to Mitchell on his campaign letterhead and did not use his county address. While it is not official county stationery, it identifies him as DA.

Under the code, the county ethics commission must rely on a panel of outside attorneys to handle the initial stage of complaint investigations.

Council’s ethics code requires the contracted attorneys to determine within 60 days whether an investigation should be terminated, further investigated or result in the issuing of a formal complaint spelling out alleged code violations.

If a formal complaint is issued, the respondent has 30 days to admit or deny the allegations.

Matters proceed to a hearing when no agreement is reached or when the respondent requests one.

Once the commission issues a final written decision, the respondent has the right to appeal the decision to the county Court of Common Pleas within 30 days.

The code applies to all county government employees and elected officials, including members and employees of county boards, authorities and commissions.

The county DA sits on the ethics commission but would abstain from participation if there is a conflict. The county manager, controller and two citizens also serve on the commission.

In the May 16 primary election, Mitchell is seeking one of six Republican nominations in the council race.

According to an endorsement letter Sanguedolce sent to Mitchell, the DA thanked Mitchell for meeting with him to discuss his thoughts and vision for the county’s future.

“Since your appointment to county council in June of last year, you have proved to be a dedicated, reasonable and conscientious addition to our government,” Sanguedolce wrote.

Sanguedolce said it is clear why the Republican Party of Luzerne County endorsed Mitchell as a council candidate. The DA told Mitchell to consider the correspondence formal notice of his endorsement of Mitchell’s candidacy.

“Luzerne County is well served to have rational and sensible representation on council. To that end, for the members of the public who may remain undecided in their vote in this primary election, I am hopeful that those voters find you to have the right experience and temperament to continue to represent the people on county council and give you their vote,” Sanguedolce wrote.

In a Monday night announcement, Mitchell said he was honored to receive Sanguedolce’s endorsement.