Dallas City News

A Luzerne County Council majority voted Tuesday on an “election safety” resolution that includes discouraging the use of mail ballot drop boxes.

Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton had suggested the resolution condemning violence against election workers earlier this month, when a council majority rejected an “election worker protection ordinance” that had been proposed by Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith.

The resolution approved Tuesday said all election workers “have a right to perform their duties free of harassment, intimidation and threats against their physical safety” and that council “stands in full support” of state and federal law prohibiting these actions.”

It discouraged the use of drop boxes “because of safety and security concerns associated with them.”

Six council members, all Republicans, supported the resolution: Thornton, Kevin Lescavage, Chairman John Lombardo, LeeAnn McDermott, Chris Perry and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr.

The remaining Republican council member, Harry Haas, voted against the resolution along with all four Democratic council members — Bryn Smith, Patty Krushnowski, Jimmy Sabatino and Brittany Stephenson.

Haas said he voted no because he believed the resolution should have been discussed in a work session first. Haas also noted a council majority failed to approve his amendment to Bryn Smith’s proposed ordinance that would have discouraged the deployment of drop boxes on the argument they are a “potential source of fraud” and public discord.

Following Tuesday’s vote, Bryn Smith questioned the legality of the new resolution.

Bryn Smith pointed to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle A. Henry’s recent letter informing county Manager Romilda Crocamo that the county election board has sole authority over the deployment of drop boxes under the state’s election code.

“Should you fail to comply with a lawful instruction or order, the Board of Elections could take action, including filing a civil mandamus action to compel performance,” Henry’s letter said. There are also potential criminal consequences for failing to comply, Henry wrote.

Passage of Tuesday’s resolution “gave an instruction about drop boxes,” Bryn Smith said.

Lombardo said that’s not true.

Thornton said council is free to discourage many things and is not mandating the county election board to do anything.

“We’re allowed to discourage,” Thornton said.

Bryn Smith said she still has concerns about the language.

She had argued her ordinance would have provided an additional option for law enforcement to charge those accused of a range of alleged crimes against poll workers.

Thornton had said he spoke with county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and was informed that ordinance could be “inviting lawsuits” against the county because laws already exist at the state level. Thornton also had read portions of an email from county Election Director Emily Cook, concluding the proposed ordinance was “ultimately a waste of time” because “there are no legitimate actionable offenses that were not already addressed as protections for these workers under the law.”

Bryn Smith, Sabatino and Krushnowski were the only council members to support that ordinance. Stephenson, the remaining Democratic council member, was absent during that vote.

Votes halted

Council removed two matters from Tuesday’s voting agenda.

The first canceled vote was related to the planned purchase of Commonwealth Health medical facilities because the buyer informed council it did not require county approval.

Representatives of nonprofit WoodBridge Healthcare Inc. had presented their request for council approval at a work session earlier this month related to the nonprofit’s issuance of up to $180 million in tax-exempt bonds to purchase and upgrade Commonwealth Health facilities, including Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

The county was approached because the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) of 1982 requires nonprofits seeking the issuance of tax-exempt financing to obtain approval from governmental entities where their facilities are located, WoodBridge legal counsel had said.

However, county officials said they were subsequently informed WoodBridge concluded Wilkes-Barre’s approval of the project will suffice under TEFRA in this county.

The second canceled vote was for a county real estate tax break request for a proposed residential housing project.

Robert W. Gundlach Jr., of Allen Ridge Associates LLC, presented the request during a council work session earlier this month for a 90-acre site across from the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Hazleton.

Lombardo said Allen Ridge has requested additional time to revise its proposal.

During public comment, David Fatula, who resides near the proposed development, said the site is “virgin woodlands” that he does not believe would be eligible for a blighted property tax break program. He predicted approval would open a “can of worms” from other private developers seeking breaks for residential projects.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.