SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A chapter closes in the Lackawanna County government as the commissioners officially accept the resignation of Matt McGloin. With his departure, a new process begins to fill the vacancy he leaves behind.
The seat left empty by McGloin’s departure is now officially acknowledged by the Lackawanna County Commissioners, clearing the path for the County Court of Common Pleas to appoint his successor.
Last week, the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee released three nominations from a pool of 18 applicants, following the home rule charter, but the process of selecting a new commissioner comes with its critics.
“They didn’t interview anybody, they wouldn’t give really any information as to how the process went down, and then when the committee members gathered in the room in Minooka, they gave them the list of three people and told them to either vote up or vote down, never heard of it being done that way before,” said Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan explained.
Commissioner Gaughan expressed his disappointment throughout the meeting Wednesday, describing the nomination process as “tainted from the start.”
“People have a right to know how commissioners are chosen; all interested applicants should be considered by the court; it is in that context and only that context that I regretfully accept Commissioner McGloin’s resignation,” Commissioner Gaughan continued.
Adding confusion to the process, the county solicitor highlighted a potential legal conflict: a 2019 Supreme Court ruling states that political parties should not be involved in filling vacancies, which contradicts the procedures outlined in the home rule charter
The Lackawanna County Democratic Committee Chairman defends the process, providing 28/22 News the following statement:
I again regret having to publicly defend the democratic committee’s limited role in this process. The Lackawanna County home rule charter process for filling elected office vacancies was triggered on Monday, the date that Matt McGloin specified in his resignation letter submitted last Friday.
The charter gave the committee less than a week to sort through almost two dozen applications from highly qualified democrats. We accepted applications until the close of business on Wednesday and we scheduled a meeting of our executive committee for Thursday night. This means we only had a half day to elevate 3 names out of a pile of 18 applicants. We used a detailed scoring rubric to review every resume. The scoring rubric allowed for a score of up to 100 points. We pulled the 3 names that we put before the executive committee from the applicants receiving the highest numerical scores. We understand people are disappointed but we stand by the fairness of our nomination process, as we simply followed the dictates of the home rule charter.
As far as the Supreme Court ruling that the solicitor is talking about, I have no opinion but I’m sure our esteemed judges in our county will research if that has any merit and rule accordingly.
Lackawanna County Democratic Committee Chairman Chris Patrick
Despite the uncertainty, Commissioner Chermak emphasized on Wednesday the importance of moving forward.
“It’s imperative that we move forward and get back to doing the job we were elected to do, that’s what the people of Lackawanna County expect, and that’s what they deserve,” Commissioner Chermak stated.
It’s still unclear when McGloin’s replacement will be announced.
