Study commission tables term limit decision

Luzerne County’s Government Study Commission tabled a decision on term limit recommendations for county elected offices Thursday after concerns were raised by some members.

The seven-citizen commission is assessing potential charter changes and aims to place its proposal on the November ballot, when voters will decide whether to switch to the new structure or keep the system in effect since January 2012.

Under the charter, all three county elected offices — county council, the district attorney and controller — have consecutive three-term limits, and partial appointed and elected terms are treated the same as full elected, four-year terms in defining the limit.

The commission agreed the new charter should keep the three-term limit but not count elected or appointed terms of two years or less toward the limit.

However, there was commission dissent on two other proposed changes that would:

• Provide a clean slate to incumbents by not counting terms prior to the new charter’s effective date toward the three-term limit.

• Increase the waiting period from two years to four years for council members to return after reaching the term limit.

Commission members Cindy Malkemes and Mark Shaffer opposed the clean slate provision, saying the terms of incumbents prior to a new charter adoption should count toward the limit.

Shaffer said providing such an advantage to incumbents could be viewed negatively by the public and may prompt voters to reject the entire new charter as a result.

However, only Malkemes and Shaffer supported their motion to eliminate that provision.

Regarding the wait for term-maxed council members to return, Commission member Tim McGinley proposed an amendment to keep it at two years.

That amendment also failed, with support from only McGinley and Commission member Stephen J. Urban.

When it came time to decide on a portion of the term limit package as originally drafted, four members, a majority, voted against it — Malkemes, McGinley, Shaffer and Urban.

Seeking an option to reach consensus, Commission Vice Chairman Vito Malacari proposed changing the clean slate provision. For elected officials seated at the time a new charter takes effect, past terms over two years would count toward the term limit but not those less than that duration, he suggested.

Shaffer supported this compromise because it falls in line with the commission’s recommendation to not count partial terms and would address the impact on District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.

More than four years were cut from the maximum Sanguedolce can serve under the charter because he was initially appointed and then elected to partial terms when predecessor Stefanie Salavantis resigned to run for county judge.

Sanguedolce was elected to his first full four-year term in November 2023.

Shaffer sought a vote to incorporate Malacari’s suggestion.

Commission Chairman Ted Ritsick said he wants time to consider the proposed change, and the panel unanimously agreed to tackle the term limits at its meeting next week.