Election 2023: Luzerne County voters will fill 6 of 11 council seats

Luzerne County voters will be filling a majority of county council seats — six of 11 — in the Nov. 7 general election.

The six selected in November will start their four-year terms in January and serve with Kevin Lescavage, John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Brian Thornton and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.

Of interest to many is whether any Democrats will be elected because Councilman Tim McGinley, the lone seated Democrat, is leaving due to a three-term limit in the county’s home rule charter. McGinley is also the last council member who served uninterrupted since the county’s January 2012 switch to home rule.

In total, the county has 196,189 registered voters, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The breakdown: Democrats, 87,530; Republicans, 82,563; and other or no affiliation, 26,096.

Twelve candidates nominated in the primary election will appear on the ballot — six Democrats and six Republicans.

The Democratic candidates: Patty Krushnowski, Michelle Rothenbecker, Jimmy Sabatino, Joanna Bryn Smith, Brittany Stephenson, and Maryann Velez.

The six Republican nominees: Thomas Dombroski, Harry Haas, LeeAnn McDermott, Matthew Mitchell, Kimberly Platek and Stephen J. Urban.

McDermott, Mitchell and Urban currently serve on council.

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.

Here’s a synopsis of the candidates based on information from the candidates and contained in the Wilkes-Barre Area League of Women Voters’ guide, which is posted in full at lwvwba.org.

• Dombroski, 63, of Dallas Township, has been the president/owner of a commercial real estate rental business in Wilkes-Barre for 30 years.

He has bachelor’s degrees in accounting and information systems from King’s College.

Dombroski said he would apply that educational background to county finances, which is his major priority.

He also believes the county should identify the five worst county-owned roads and take steps to improve them.

• Haas, 48, of Kingston, is a Dallas School District teacher and served on county council from 2012 through 2021.

Haas said he can hit the ground running and had previously worked with colleagues to shrink county debt by 50%, trim the workforce and reduce the budget. He said he governed with integrity and respect for county staff, council colleagues and the public.

His priorities include guarding tax dollars, speaking “truth to power,” holding leadership accountable when it violates the public trust and equipping staff to pave roads and hold secure and fair elections.

• Krushnowski, 60, of Wilkes-Barre, has been employed by Verizon for 27 years, is an executive board member of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Labor Council and a member of IBEW Local 827.

She also has served as a judge of elections for more than a decade.

Krushnowski’s priorities include expanding access to the trades via an apprenticeship program for high school students and funding for a career transition programs and increasing the efficiency and transparency of the election process.

• McDermott, 54, of Kingston Township, has owned McDermott Real Estate Appraisals in Shavertown for 28 years and is serving her fourth year on county council. She also chairs council’s real estate committee and serves on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport’s bi-county oversight board.

Her priorities include continuing to improve the county’s financial rating and pay down the debt to be debt-free in eight years. She also is working to create a coalition to create affordable housing for county residents and wants to seek more funding to help improve infrastructure.

• Mitchell, 35, of Plains Township, is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator at the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority and has served on county council since he was appointed to fill a vacant seat in June 2022.

He said he is a lifelong county resident who represents the best interests of the entire county — not just his immediate area.

His priorities are continued fiscal responsibility, debt reduction and accountability. He noted he designed the council-approved plan awarding $55 million in American Rescue awards to 113 outside entities and that he was endorsed by county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce for being a strong supporter of law enforcement, emergency services and good government.

• Platek, 56, of Sugarloaf Township, has a teaching degree and has been working as a pharmaceutical representative for 25 years.

She said she is running to restore public confidence in county government and “turn the page on obstructionist elected officials.”

Her priorities include striving for a unified county and stopping petty infighting, building positive relationships between the county and municipalities and finding new and innovative ways to grow the industrial and commercial tax base and prevent tax increases.

• Rothenbecker, 41, of Bear Creek Township owns a small educational consulting company called Ruby Run LLC and has master’s degrees in business administration and instructional design.

She said her leadership skills and background in managing budgets, modernizing operating procedures, and preventing wasteful spending will help save money that can be invested back in the people.

Her priorities include accountability and transparency in county government, a focus on data-driven decisions and the creation of a dedicated environmental services department to protect the county’s natural spaces and waterways.

• Sabatino, 43, of Butler Township, owns and operates three Vesuvio’s restaurant locations with his siblings in Hazleton, Drums and Wilkes-Barre. He also has a bachelor’s degree in international studies.

As a small business owner, he said he has daily interactions that provide insight into community concerns and problems that need to be addressed.

His priorities include bringing a fresh perspective, transparency, and accountability to local governance and ensuring that council prioritizes community needs and the betterment of the county over personal agendas.

• Bryn Smith, 37, of Wyoming, is a public interest attorney for The Women’s Resource Center, Barbara J. Hart Justice Center in Scranton.

She said she understands county operations and areas that need work because she was employed as a county conflict counsel providing public defense for nearly a decade. She also pointed to her volunteer service on multiple local nonprofit boards as further experience for the council role.

Her priorities include protecting elections; government efficiency, accountability and transparency and attracting businesses.

• Stephenson, 26, of Plymouth Township, is a college of student affairs practitioner working with minority students at Bloomsburg University. She has three bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in educational leadership/college student affairs.

A lifelong county resident, Stephenson said she has extensive experience working with diverse populations, is dedicated to community building and committed to a life of social justice and equity.

Her priorities include assessing the budget to determine primary areas of need for the reallocation of funding, introducing a “responsible contractor ordinance,” and combatting housing insecurity in the county.

• Urban, 49, 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.

He said he has corporate operations experience on how to be frugal with tax dollars and has the technological skills to recommend modern solutions to manual processes to save time and tax dollars.

His priorities include supporting the retention of the elected tax collector system, continuing a track record of investing in infrastructure and capital projects and continuing to vote against initiatives that are not taxpayer-friendly.

• Velez, 50, of Duryea, is the founder and president/CEO of the local nonprofit UNA, a volunteer-based organization that works for the citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and has bachelor’s degrees in health science and psychology.

She said she is equipped for council because UNA, under her leadership, has played a pivotal role in helping individuals gain access to much-needed resources that cater to various needs in the community.

Her priorities include infrastructure, small business and community-first programs and finding solutions to help reduce the burden on taxpayers.

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Nine of the 12 Luzerne County Council candidates participated in last week’s Wilkes-Barre Area League of Women Voters public forum at the Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke.

It will air on Channel 9 (SETV) at 8 p.m. Monday (Oct. 30) and will then be posted to the Video Innovations Luzerne County YouTube channel.