Luzerne County Councilman presents charter amendment ballot question

A proposed home rule charter amendment ballot question reconstituting Luzerne County’s five-citizen election board is now before county council.

Councilman Gregory S. Wolovich Jr., who drafted the proposed question, discussed his views on the change during last week’s council work session.

Council may vote May 23 to introduce an ordinance placing the question on the Nov. 7 general election ballot for voters to decide. If the ordinance is introduced, a public hearing and majority vote at a subsequent meeting would be necessary for final passage.

Under the charter, the election board has four council-appointed citizens — two Republicans and two Democrats. Those four then choose a fifth member of any or no affiliation to serve for four years and act as board chair.

Wolovich’s proposed ballot question would require council to appoint all five election board members through majority vote.

The board structure — two Democrats, two Republicans and a fifth of any affiliation — would remain the same.

However, the fifth member of any affiliation will be appointed by council every two years instead of serving a four-year term.

The election board members would then choose which of the five members serves as chair and vice chair through a reorganization vote every two years, the proposal says.

Wolovich told his colleagues the change would give council more say over which citizens are appointed to serve. Voters also would have more input because they elect five or six council members every two years, and those newly elected members would be involved in selecting the fifth election board member of any affiliation every two years, he said.

“The people as a whole would have more power as the voters to pick their Board of Elections because it would not be dependent on the four members currently sitting on the board to pick that fifth member,” Wolovich said.

In response to a council question, Wolovich said the current election board would be vacated if the ballot question passes in the general election because the reconstituted structure would take effect in January.

The board currently consists of Republicans Alyssa Fusaro and James Mangan and Democrats Daniel Schramm, Audrey Serniak and Denise Williams. Williams holds the fifth seat as chair.

Mangan and Serniak will complete their current terms the end of this year, according to the county website. Williams’ seat expires in April 2025, and Schramm and Fusaro are in terms that expire the end of 2025, it says.

Wolovich stressed all current election board members would be encouraged to apply for reappointment if the ballot question advances and is approved by voters.

He told colleagues his proposed ballot question has been checked by the county law office.

County assistant solicitor Shannon Crake Lapsansky, who was filling in for Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene at last week’s meeting, told council the proposed change “makes sense” because she is unaware of any local government bodies that lock in a chairperson for four years. County council reorganizes and votes on a chair every two years following council elections, she said.

Several council members commended Wolovich for drafting the proposed question.

Another proposed ballot question to reduce the size of council from 11 to seven members is still undergoing legal review.

A council majority supported the pursuit of ballot questions to improve the county’s home rule charter at the start of this year, when it rejected a proposal to ask primary election voters if they want to convene an elected study commission to reconsider the home rule government structure.

Council members voting against the study commission proposal in January had argued council should have an opportunity to bring suggested home rule improvements directly to voters through ballot questions, saying that approach won’t risk a study commission recommendation to return to the old structure.

Advocates of the commission had maintained an outside panel was the best way to tackle home rule deficiencies in one sweep and emphasized the commission could choose to keep home rule.

The current charter implemented in 2012 replaced a system in effect for more than 150 years and put 11 part-time elected council members and a council-appointed manager in charge of decisions previously made by three elected commissioners and several elected row officers.