Luzerne County Council candidate Denise Williams calls out lies in new campaign mailer

Luzerne County Council candidate Denise Williams said a new campaign mailer put out by the county Republican Party is a “smear” attack that falsely links her to two past election errors.

“Let’s be clear: These accusations are lies,” said Williams, a Kingston Township Democrat who had served as county Election Board chairwoman before she stepped down to run for county council.

The mailer, which is expected to arrive in approximately 30,000 households around Halloween, contains a drawing depicting Williams as a witch holding a broom and asks, “what kind of spooky tricks is Denise Williams responsible for?”

Under headings of “poof” near a cauldron containing a ballot, the mailer contains two newspaper headlines — one about the county resending 6,700 mail ballots due to the misspelling of state Rep. Alec Ryncavage’s name and the other addressing the county running out of paper on Election Day.

Williams said the mailer falsely accuses her of being responsible for the misspelling of Ryncavage’s name on the November 2024 ballot and the paper shortage at polling places in the November 2022 general election.

Here are Williams’ responses and some background based on past reporting:

• Ryncavage misspelling

Williams: “It is public knowledge that Dominion Voting Systems, the county’s voting equipment supplier, took full responsibility for the misspelling of Alec Ryncavage’s name on the ballot. The Board of Election members do not create the ballots. The Board approves the ballot, and the ballot we approved had the correct spelling.”

Background: Dominion Voting Systems, the county’s voting equipment supplier, accepted responsibility for the “Tyncavage” misspelling, citing human error, and agreed to cover the cost of corrected ballots.

• Paper shortage

Williams: “The Board of Elections does not order or manage election supplies. Those duties fall under the county’s election staff and administration — the Bureau of Elections — not the volunteer members of the Election Board, and certainly not its chair.

“The Board’s role is oversight and policy — not ordering paper or preparing voting machines. During my tenure, the Board relied on assurances from county staff that all materials were properly ordered and ready. When the shortage occurred, I was as frustrated as every voter who experienced it. That’s why the Board immediately referred the matter to the District Attorney’s Office and then pressed for stronger safeguards, improved oversight, and clearer lines of accountability to ensure it would never happen again.”

Background: County DA Sam Sanguedolce’s report on the matter concluded multiple county staff “missed” steps of ensuring the county had a sufficient quantity of the correct paper on hand and loaded into the voting machines. It highlighted the lack of institutional knowledge among those overseeing the election bureau at that time.

“The evidence shows that the failure to provide paper to the polling places was not a deliberate act, but rather a catastrophic oversight,” it said.

The report said 16 polling locations reported paper issues that resulted in a voting stoppage, although some were brief, such as a temporary halt to switch from ballot marking devices to paper emergency or provisional ballots.

Williams said she is proud of her record as election board chair and has worked to uphold election laws, keep the process fair and transparent, and “maintain a nonpartisan, fact-based approach to every decision.”

“My only agenda was to serve all Luzerne County voters with integrity,” Williams said. “The Republican Party’s attempt to rewrite history and spread lies for political gain is both irresponsible and divisive. The facts are clear—and the Republican Party leadership knows that Denise Williams was not responsible for filling the voting machines with paper or the misspelling of Alec Ryncavage’ name.”

County Controller Walter Griffith, a Republican, shared Williams’ concerns about the mailer.

“Everything on that mailer is not factual regarding Williams. This is targeting her, and our party needs to apologize to her,” Griffith said Wednesday.

Griffith stood at the podium at Tuesday’s council meeting, the night before, to criticize a different mailer put out by the county Democratic Party focused on county Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton, who is seeking re-election.

Griffith also had called for an apology to Thornton from the Democratic Party.

Griffith said Williams had “nothing to do” with the Ryncavage misspelling because Dominion accepted responsibility, and the DA’s report cited staffing errors as the cause of paper shortages.

The Republican candidates for county office appear on the back of the mailer. Griffith said he was unaware of the mailer and “would have refused to be part of it.”

“If the party is going to use our photos, it implies the candidates knew it was going out, even though they put a disclaimer on there saying the mailer was not authorized by any candidates or candidate committees,” Griffith said.

County Republican Chair LeeAnn McDermott said she stands by the mailer because the articles it cited were factual.

“The Board of Elections is charged with administering elections, and these things happened when she was chair of the board,” McDermott said.

McDermott said the Democratic Party also “threw the first stone” with the mailer against Thornton, and the Republican Party “felt it had to respond.”

County voters will select five county council members in Tuesday’s general election, and there are 10 contenders. The candidates: Democrats Chris Belles, Steven M. Coslett, Tony Perzia, Dawn Simmons, and Williams, and Republicans John Lombardo, Jackie Scarcella, Thornton, Stephen J. Urban, and Greg Wolovich.

County manager responds

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo issued the following statement:

“In recent weeks, it has become increasingly disheartening to witness the state of our election discourse in Luzerne County devolving into unconstructive vitriol rather than fostering meaningful discussions on the pressing issues we face. The latest example of this troubling trend is the distasteful mailer targeting council candidate Denise Williams. Like Councilman Thornton, who was cruelly targeted, candidate Williams deserves an apology.

“This mailer represents a sophomoric attempt to undermine Denise’s contributions as chair of the Election Board. It is true that she was the chairperson of the election board when these incidents occurred, it is equally as true that the underlying causes are more complex. It’s crucial to clarify that the misspelling of Representative Ryncavage’s name on the ballot was the result of errors made by Dominion, who accepted responsibility and covered the costs incurred by the County. While I wasn’t with the County during the paper shortage incident, it’s important to note that the ordering of supplies is ultimately the responsibility of the Election Bureau.

“Elections are complex undertakings that require the dedicated efforts of the bureau, the board, and hundreds of volunteers who work tirelessly at the polls to uphold our democracy. Yet these smear campaigns do nothing to inform voters or facilitate their decision-making process.

“It is truly disheartening to see political parties stooping to such buffoonery. We must rise above these tactics and engage in substantive conversations about how we can collectively address the challenges facing our community. Let’s focus on the issues that matter rather than resorting to attacks that only serve to divide us further.”