Eight apply for Luzerne County election director position

Luzerne County received eight resumes for the vacant election director position by Sunday’s application deadline, said county Interim Administrative Services Division Head Angela Gavlick.

Meanwhile, county Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams has issued a release emphasizing the need for strong leadership at the bureau.

Williams put out the statement after Friday’s revelation that two flash drives containing Nov. 2 election results were still in judge-of-election delivery bags and had not been factored into the unofficial vote tally on election night.

“In my role as the recently elected chair of the supervisory Election Board, the main factor that stood out for me in my observations of this election’s pre-election, Election Day, and post-election processes is the necessity to put in place strong and knowledgeable leadership at the bureau — someone who has the expertise, knowledge, willingness and desire to ensure that an efficient and accurate election process is in place,” Williams wrote.

That oversight must include full and adequate preparations “well ahead” of each election and implementation of “meticulous and specific accounting procedures for all election materials throughout the entire process,” she wrote.

The five-citizen, volunteer board will continue monitoring the bureau to ensure elections are fair and accurate, she said.

Acting County Manager Romilda Crocamo also has been extensively documenting areas the new director must address based on observations before, during and after the general election.

The county manager selects the election director but must seek feedback from the election board.

Crocamo has advertised the election director position at $64,500 annually, which was the compensation paid to both prior election directors, Bob Morgan and Shelby Watchilla.

Morgan left for other employment Oct. 8 after six months on the job. Watchilla, left in December 2020 after a year in the position, also for another job.

Crocamo held off on seeking Morgan’s replacement until after the Nov. 2 general but said it is now necessary to find a permanent election overseer to implement clear operating procedures and protocols for all phases of the election process.

Eryn Harvey, who has been working as county deputy election director since March, said Monday she has applied for the election director position.

“Our previous director resigned a month before the election, and since that time I stepped up to help run a successful election,” Harvey said. “I believe during my time as deputy director I have exhibited the qualities of leadership Chairperson Williams refers to, and I share in her vision of the direction of the bureau. I hope to be considered for the position.”

County Information Technology Director Mauro DiMauro assists in county elections and said he witnessed Harvey performing her work along with many election-related duties previously performed by Morgan and David Parsnik, who resigned, effective immediately, in September.

“Eryn was completely dedicated to running a fair, honest and open election,” DiMauro said.

A county resident, Harvey has a bachelor’s degree in communications from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre and held a media/constituent relations position for state Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, when she accepted the $42,000-a-year deputy election director position. She previously worked for WYLN News, Entercom Communications and WBRE–TV.

Crocamo said interviews will be scheduled after she receives a list of those meeting minimum qualifications.

The minimum qualifications for the election director position, according to the job posting: a high school diploma with some post-secondary education, four years of proven elections management experience and two years of supervisory experience in an elections bureau environment that includes direct experience with electronic voting machines.

As previously reported, the election bureau realized the two flash drives containing 255 votes had not been tallied last week while performing a post-election reconciliation comparing the number of voters that signed in on electronic poll books to the number of ballots recorded on tabulator tapes from scanners used at the polling place.

In total, the flash drives contained 255 votes from a scanner/tabulator in Kingston Township District 3 and in Dorrance Township. Both flash drives were still in election night delivery bags kept at the bureau.

County officials emphasized the results are still unofficial and that the issue was detected before the results were certified.

The election board is set to convene at noon Wednesday at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre for the certification vote. Directions to attend the meeting remotely are posted under county’s authorities/boards/commissions online meetings section at luzernecounty.org.