Dallas City News

Luzerne County’s election bureau has posted a list of candidates that filed nomination petitions to run for county Republican Party committee seats in the April 23 primary election.

The list is on the election page at luzernecounty.org.

The party has two committee seats in each of the 186 voting precincts, or a total of 372, officials have said. Committee members choose the party chair.

Candidates had to secure at least 10 signatures to appear on the primary ballot.

Based on a review of the list, 71 precincts have at least two candidates on the ballot.

The remaining 115 precincts have only one candidate or no candidates, according to the list.

As a result, at least one or both seats in the 115 precincts will be decided through write-in votes, officials say.

When the committee seats were last on the primary ballot four years ago, county officials publicly emphasized these write-in votes are handled differently.

Following the June 2020 primary, some complained that the election bureau was not breaking write-in ties and issuing winner certificates for county Republican committee seats.

Then-election board solicitor Michael Butera said the bureau stopped this type of involvement with the Democratic committee seats in the 2018 election following legal research and a review of procedures in other counties. Butera said both parties were informed of the change in 2018.

“These are party matters that should be determined by the party,” Butera had said in 2020.

He also noted party committee seats were not public offices, and the results of those races are not included in the candidate results the county must certify and report to the state.

In the upcoming primary, the candidate roster indicates there are 23 precincts with more than two candidates, which means there will be competition in the primary.

The precincts with more than two candidates: Bear Creek Township District 02; Black Creek Township; Dallas Township Districts 1 and 4; Harveys Lake; Jackson Township; Jenkins Township District 1; Kingston Wards 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8; Kingston Township District 1; Nanticoke Ward 2; Pittston City Ward 2; Sugarloaf Township District 02; Swoyersville Ward 2; West Pittston Wards 1 and 3; Wilkes-Barre City Wards 2 and 13; and Wilkes-Barre Township Wards 1 and 2.

A list of county government study commission candidates also has been posted on the election page.

As reported earlier this week, 17 candidates filed nomination paperwork to run for the county’s proposed government study commission.

Primary election voters — including those who are not Republicans or Democrats — will simultaneously decide if they want to convene a commission and choose seven citizens to serve on the panel. The selected seven would only serve if the referendum passes.

The list, in the order in which the candidates filed paperwork: Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich, Fairview Township; Vito Malacari, Hanover Township; Mark Shaffer, Wilkes-Barre; Andy Wilczak, Wright Township; Fermin Diaz, West Hazleton; Claudia Glennan, Salem Township; Cindy Malkemes, Dallas Township; Tim McGinley, Kingston; Charles Sciandra, Duryea; Stephen J. Urban, Kingston; Sandra DeBias, Hazle Township; Mark Rabo, Hazleton; Ted Ritsick, Forty Fort; Dave Chaump, West Pittston; Tom Bassett, Pittston; Vivian Kreidler-Licina, Nescopeck Township; and Matt Mitchell, Plains Township.

If activated, the commission must examine the county’s current home rule structure that took effect in 2012 and decide if it wants to prepare and recommend changes. The commission would be free to recommend alterations to the existing charter, an entirely new charter or a return to the prior state code system in which three elected commissioners and multiple row officers handled decisions that now rest with an 11-member council and appointed manager. Voters must approve any recommended change for it to take effect.

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