Council will vote on Luzerne County Election Board appointments next week
Luzerne County Council will vote next week on appointments to two vacant county election board seats — even if no additional eligible applicants surface, council Chairman John Lombardo said Tuesday.
The board terms of Republican James Mangan and Democrat Audrey Serniak expired Dec. 31, and these seats must be filled by one Republican and one Democrat.
Serniak is seeking reappointment, and no other Democrats have both completed public interviews and met home rule charter eligibility requirements. Mangan did not seek reappointment, and West Pittston resident Roxanne Arreguin is the lone Republican on the eligibility list.
Lombardo had said he and council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton decided to omit election board appointments from council’s Jan. 9 voting agenda to see if more citizens were interested and, if so, provide council with choices. Two citizens and Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams had objected to the delay, saying the volunteer, five-citizen board should be at its full complement as soon as possible in this busy presidential election year.
Lombardo said Tuesday he was informed several citizens have expressed interest in applying in recent days, although no new applications had been received as of Tuesday afternoon.
The council committee that publicly interviews and screens outside board applicants has scheduled a Monday (Jan. 22) meeting — the day before council’s voting meeting — in case any other citizens submit applications, Lombardo said. Those interested should apply by this Thursday to allow sufficient time for council review and to schedule interviews, he said.
Although he wanted to make one last push for more applicants, Lombardo said he never planned to wait an extended period to vote on the matter.
Council has 60 days to make the board appointments, or until the end of February. After that, any county resident can petition the county Court of Common Pleas to fill the seats within 30 days.
The board oversees elections, makes determinations on flagged ballots and write-in votes and certifies election results.
Interested citizens can send their resume and a cover letter to Sharon.Lawrence@luzernecounty.org. Election board members must be available on Election Day and during the day for a little over a week to two weeks after each primary and general election for the adjudication process. The charter also imposes eligibility restrictions as detailed in a Times Leader news article last week.
The Jan. 22 Authorities, Boards and Commissions Committee interview session is at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
Thornton chairs this committee, which also includes Lombardo and Council members Chris Perry and Brittany Stephenson.
Council’s Jan. 23 voting meeting is at 6 p.m. in the courthouse, and virtual attendance directions are at the same online link.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.