Luzerne County Republican voters selected a mix of current and new county council candidates to advance to the November general election, according to unofficial primary election results.
At midnight, with 184 of 188 precincts reporting, the following Republicans were in the lead: current Council members Stephen J. Urban, LeeAnn McDermott and Matthew Mitchell; past council member Harry Haas; and newcomers Thomas Dombroski and Kimberly Platek.
However, these results are subject to change because the county was not expecting results from Hazleton Ward 7 and Hazle Township District 4 to be reported until after midnight because the sheriff’s department had to return to those polling places to retrieve results not delivered to the bureau, officials said.
Mail ballots flagged for various issues also must be processed through election board adjudication.
Meanwhile, Democrats nominated these six based on unofficial results: Joanna Bryn Smith, Patricia Krushnowski, Michelle Rothenbecker, Jimmy Sabatino, Brittany Stephenson and Maryanne Velez.
The 12 primary nominees will face off in the Nov. 7 general election, when all voters are free to pick six of any affiliation.
Twelve Republicans sought primary nominations in the council races, which means the following were not among those if the preliminary partial results hold true: current Councilman Carl Bienias III, Anthony Corrado, Gregory W. Griffin, Ronald D. Knapp, Vivian Kreidler-Licina and Richard Tihansky.
Only seven Democrats appeared on the primary ballot, and Damon Saxon did not make the cut.
Council members receive $8,000 annually. In addition to adopting a budget, their duties include approving larger contracts, appointing members to outside county boards, enacting codes and ordinances, confirming nominations to eight division head positions and hiring/firing and evaluating the manager.
The six selected in November will take office or start new terms the start of 2024 and serve with Kevin Lescavage, John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Brian Thornton and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.
Currently the lone Democrat on the 11-member council, Councilman Tim McGinley is leaving due to a three-term limit in the county’s home rule charter. He is the only seated council member who served since the county’s January 2012 switch to home rule. Council Chairwoman Kendra Vough did not seek reelection, saying she wants to take some time to focus on family and her full-time career.
The unofficial vote tally as of midnight with four precincts still not reported:
• Republicans: Urban, 9,721; McDermott, 9,361; Haas, 8,585; Dombroski, 7,854; Platek, 7,799; Mitchell, 7,355; Griffin, 7,249; Corrado, 6,608; Bienias, 6,254; Tihansky, 5,497; Knapp, 4,772; and Kreidler-Licina, 4,219.
• Democrats: Bryn Smith, 13,850; Krushnowski, 13,198; Stephenson, 12,869; Rothenbecker, 12,726; Velez, 12,259; and Saxon, 8,433.
Some background on the nominees:
Republicans
• Dombroski, of Dallas Township, has been the president/owner of a commercial real estate rental business in Wilkes-Barre for 30 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.
• 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.
• Urban, of Kingston, is an IT support coordinator for a major food distributor and served on council from 2012 through 2015 and is in the fourth year of his current term.
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.
• Stephenson, of Plymouth Township, is a college of student affairs practitioner working with minority students at Bloomsburg University.
• Velez, of Duryea, is the founder and executive director of the local nonprofit UNA.
McDermott thanked voters, poll workers and those who volunteered to support candidates at the polls.
“I’m excited to work hard going into the November election,” McDermott said.
Haas thanked all Republican voters who “put their faith in me once again.”
“Now it’s onward to convince the Democrats and Independents that my agenda is one that fits all Luzerne County residents,” Haas said, saying he won’t support “enriching special interests” or pursuing unnecessary tax hikes.
“I will focus on what the government is supposed to do — restoring roads and balancing the budget to live within our means.”
Bryn Smith also thanked supporters.
“We’ve seen for a few years now what happens when the people of Luzerne County have such a fractured county council, and I believe these results show that the voters want a change,” she said. “I, along with the other nominees, are looking forward to working towards November to show the voters that when we are elected, we will be able to work together, respectfully disagree, and finally model the kind of leadership that the people of Luzerne County deserve.”
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.