Luzerne County warns of errors in newly posted report on election campaign finance violators

Luzerne County’s election bureau publicly apologized Monday to 29 campaign committees and eight candidates for incorrectly including them in a newly posted list of those that failed to file required campaign finance reports tied to the May 16 primary election.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo alerted council to the problem Monday morning.

“We are in the process of rectifying the situation and will be issuing a public statement about any necessary corrections,” Crocamo said.

The list was posted Saturday on the election bureau’s campaign finance section of the county website. The link was disabled Monday.

County Controller Walter Griffith reviewed the list before it was posted but had stressed the data on which candidates/committees did not file was supplied by the election bureau.

Shortly after 6 p.m., county Election Director Eryn Harvey issued a personal apology from the election bureau to the following candidates and committees for incorrectly including them on the failed-to-file list:

• Committees: Committee To Elect Joe Caffrey; Friends Of John Marconi; Luzerne County First District Democrats; Luzerne County Young Democrats; Luzerne County Young Republicans; Plains Township Democratic Organization; Luzerne County Democratic Women PAC; Luzerne County 4th District Dem Committee; Friends Of Jim Burns; 121st District Republican Committee Luzerne County; Citizens For A Better Hazleton; Progressive Women Of NEPA; Republican Women Of Luzerne County; United For Luzerne; Wilkes-Barre Township Republican Committee; 120th Republican Committee; Citizens Committee; Committee To Elect Cindee Deluca; Friends For Kyle Halesey; Friends Of Bob Fiume; Friends Of Chaz Balogh; Friends Of Jeff Cusat; Friends Of Jessica McClay; Haggerty For District Judge; Hanover Area Committee; Mitchell For County Council; Sam For DA; Saxon Dream Team; and WA Alumni Candidates.

• Candidates: Nancy Cooper, Roberta Rowlands, Vianney Castro, Robert J. Fiume, Jim Haggerty, Kyle Halesey, Jessica McClay and Charles “Chaz” Balogh..

A link to the corrected list is now posted under the election bureau’s campaign finance section at luzernecounty.org.

”This is a new project being undertaken by the Luzerne County Election Bureau, and we will continue to refine the process,” Harvey said.

Candidate reaction

County Councilman Matthew Mitchell’s committee — Mitchell for County Council — was among those wrongly included on the list for failing to file a “30-day post-primary” report due June 15, he said Monday. Mitchell was appointed to council in June 2022 and is among the six Republican primary nominees advancing to the November general election in the county council race.

Mitchell supplied a copy of the report Monday that showed it had been time-stamped as received in the election bureau on June 13, or two days before the deadline.

“As a first-time candidate, I’m trying to be conscientious of proper filing procedures and deadlines, so it’s disappointing to see your name wrongfully listed on a page with a fine,” Mitchell said. “Mistakes happen, but when information like this is posted in an official capacity, the voters may question your ability to hold public office, and rightfully so. Once the information is out there, it’s hard to redress the balance.”

Kingston Borough Councilwoman Nancy Cooper said she and her two election teammates — Al Littzi and Roberta Rowlands — all incorrectly appeared on the county’s candidate list for failing to file both the post-primary report and a “second Friday pre-primary report” due May 5.

All three candidates filed both reports before the deadline, Cooper said, noting she followed the same filing procedures that she has adhered to in numerous past elections without any issues.

“It’s very disappointing. I feel our reputation is a little bit tarnished now because it looks like we didn’t do something we were supposed to do, which isn’t true,” Cooper said. “I am more than upset about what’s going on.”

Magisterial District Judge Jim Haggerty, who secured both party primary nominations seeking another term, said he has time-stamped copies proving his reports were filed as both a candidate and committee.

“As a judge, following the law is critical. It’s unfortunate when something like this happens,” Haggerty said of his inclusion on the violation list.

County Detective Charles “Chaz” Balogh, who ran for district judge against Haggerty, also expressed frustration about wrongly appearing on the list. He has documentation to show both the candidate and committee reports were filed before the deadline.

“I can only hope in the future the election bureau can notify the candidate(s) who are ‘listed’ as not being in compliance by sending a correspondence to the candidate(s) as to their finding before posting to the public. Within that correspondence, allowing the candidate(s) to accept or challenge their findings. This would allow the candidate(s) to contact the election bureau as to their error,” Balogh said.

County officials announced last week that the controller’s office and county election bureau had teamed up to track campaign finance reports — a task that has not been comprehensively enforced by the bureau over the last few years.

The election bureau said it was mailing violation notices that included fines to those with missing reports.

Public posting of a violation list is required by law, officials said.