The LuLac Edition #170, March 7, 2007

PHOTO INDEX: THE LATE BANDLEADER LAWRENCE WELK WOULD CERTAINLY RATE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN LACKAWANNA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC POLITICS AS SIMPLY "WUNNERFUL, WUNNERFUL" AND CURRENT LACKAWANNA COUNTY RECORDER OF DEEDS AND COUNTY COMMISSIONER CANDIDATE EVIE REFALKO McNULTY.

LACKAWANNA

"WUNNERFUL

WUNNERFUL!!!"

People who don’t follow the passion play that is politics really don’t get how much fun it can be. Take the Commissioner’s race for Lackawanna County. Let’s start with the incumbent GOP. You have two elected officials, Robert Cordaro and A.J. Munchak, the duo who wrested control away from a Democratic majority that held office for two decades. How does their own party pay them back? By running candidates against them! They are being opposed by former Newton Township Supervisor Lee Jamison, former hardware store owner Phil Spinka of South Abington Township and former Blakely tax collector Rob Castellani. Castellani is related to former Democratic commissioner Randy Castellani who was serving his second term in office when he resigned to pursue a career in private business. The current Minority Commissioner Mike Washo replaced him.
The Democratic side is providing the most fireworks. A few weeks back, the County Democratic committee endorsed Mr. Washo and Chris Claus from Abington Twp. Clauss’ pick was a surprise since he was not the most visible and experienced of all the candidates. It was thought that his former athletic prowess as a Penn State football player and mid valley insurance executive would balance out the ticket.
Clauss’ decision to back out after an endorsement is by and large almost unprecedented in Lackawanna County. Twice in Luzerne County it happened, in the 1967 Wyoming Area School Board race, Joe Rock who had won the Democratic primary begged out for business reasons and in 1991 Frank J. Trinisewski did not run after winning the Democratic primary for County Commissioner. He was replaced by Rose Tucker who ran in the 1991 General. But those two instances were of people who actually won a primary race and then opted out for personal reasons. The enduring question on Mr. Clauss will be this: did he decide alone or was he pushed?
Two candidates passed over for the endorsement was Moosic Attorney Corey O’Brien and Recorder of Deeds Evie Refalko McNulty. Both have filed for the office anyway along with Jessup policeman Robert Berta.
So this is what we have going on with the Dems. You have an incumbent, appointed Minority Commissioner not known for his charisma as the lone endorsee since Mr. Clauss stepped down. He needs a running mate. Do you just endorse him and see who he winds up with? That was done once in 1979 in Luzerne County when the Dems endorsed Ed Wideman for another term as Commissioner when his long time running mate Frank P. Crossin Senior ran his own ticket with Edd Brominski. (In future LULAC editions, we’ll go over the mechanics of that 1979 fascinating race). By doing this, the county Democrats would have a clean slate with the person who remains standing at the end with Mr. Washo. However this assumes that Mr. Washo wins a seat. What if O’Brien and McNulty win and Washo becomes the odd man out? You have to say that might be a long shot if indeed it happened because of the strength of the county endorsement, but political organizations are not as strong and loyal as they once were. And what happens if you get two candidates, one endorsed, one independent forced to team up? The ramifications of that in the general election could be downright ugly. Mrs. McNulty’s husband Jim can attest to that. In the 1979 spring primary, Mr. McNulty and Atty. Edmund Schechitti (I know I’m blowing the spelling on that last name) ran for Commissioner. McNulty prevailed but his running mate lost. McNulty was teamed up with then Clerk of Courts Chester LaSota, an endorsee of the party. Proclaiming that the two would run as a team, LaSota’s people, party regulars cut McNulty in certain wards in the mid valley worse than a one eyed, drunk butcher. On Election night, a disappointed McNulty on WDAU TV angrily called out LaSota for the vote cutting that cost McNulty the election and the Democrats a chance at the Majority in the County. So there are all types of pitfalls awaiting the Democrats regarding these new developments.
Here’s what appears to be the pecking order of the Democratic candidates.

1. Evie Refalko McNulty:

You have to make her the favorite for a number of reasons. She’s been elected to the Recorder of Deeds office. Her campaigns were organized and conceptualized by her husband, James McNulty. Her first effort had as its theme the Broadway hit song “Getting To Know You”. While the campaign ads were glitzy, Mrs. McNulty was not. She took that campaign to the streets appearing at Senior Centers, street corners and rallies carrying the persona of “a regular gal”. Plus her associations with the National League of Cities and Mayors (where legend has it she met the then Mayor McNulty telling him that if he lost his 1985 re-election bid he’d have to marry her) as well as various women’s organizations in the county give her a built in voting bloc advantage. The women’s organizations Mrs. McNulty belongs to span an entire social and economic spectrum from breast cancer research to dress for success for women in business. There are those who will tell you that Mrs. McNulty’s association with the former Mayor may hurt her politically because of some of his fiscal shortcomings. I totally disagree with that. First off, Robert Cordaro’s reluctance to readily pay his back taxes (he did finally) puts that issue for Mrs. McNulty off the table. Had Cordaro not been called out on that issue, maybe there’d be a negative but not after that. And let’s not forget that Jim McNulty has been, is and will be a political force in his own right. It is true he has only won one election out of 6 he contested for on a county and city basis. BUT if you look at the numbers on his losses, every single one of those losses were by less than 200 votes each time. Jim McNulty still has a base of people loyal to him and his family. Plus, let’s not forget the presence of Sister Adrian Barrett and the Barrett/McNulty axis of votes. Then, there is the historical significance of Mrs. McNulty being the first woman to be a County Commissioner. (Luzerne County has had two already). You combine all those forces and Evie McNulty looks pretty comfortable as the front runner in this race.

2. Mike Washo:

He has the Democratic endorsement, has been a very vocal minority commissioner and comes across in public as accessible, friendly, knowledgeable and dedicated to serve. He will have the bulk of the Democrats who helped get him appointed and then endorsed. Mr. Washo can capitalize on the fact that if he were in the majority, the Dems would get a leg up on some county jobs they’ve been missing out on.
His only pitfall is that he might be eclipsed by the “running on all cylinders” candidacy of Mrs. McNulty and the youth and charisma of Corey O’Brien.

3. Corey O’Brien:

Attractive, well spoken, a TV and Radio host who has been in the public eye for about two years. He has to tread carefully in order to succeed. Mr. O’Brien has to accentuate the positive in his race and not come across as an ambitious attorney on the way up the ladder. More than any other candidate, O’Brien needs to present a plan on how he will govern. I know, I know, it’s not fair but Mr. Washo and Mrs. McNulty are perceived by the public as having records, Mr. O’Brien to some is just a “pretty face who looks good in a suit”. O’Brien has to walk the fine line of running as an insurgent candidate but letting it be known with a velvet glove that he would not be adverse of any help from the cigar chomping backroom old school Dems who still control votes in the Lackawanna County world. He would be smart to cultivate the base of Joe Corcoran (the long time 20 year majority commissioner who lest we forget, lost the 2003 race by less than 250 votes). O’Brien, if he makes the right moves has a chance to overcome Mr. Washo but he has to make sure his answers to public questions (example: his disassociation from his law firm) are crystal clear.

4. Robert Berta:

The Mid Valley has always enjoyed a presence on the Lackawanna County Democratic ticket. For years, Ray Alberigi served as a County Commissioner. Mr. Berta needs to exploit that into one huge voting bloc for himself, utilize his position in law enforcement and his business connections to get himself better known. Right now, he is the longest of long shots but as we all know in Lackawanna County political history, that can be a small consideration when all is said and done.

HERE’S A LIST OF OTHER CANDIDATES RUNNING IN LACKAWANNA COUNTY

Lackawanna County Controller:

John Mellow (D), Blakely; Glenn M. Cashuric (D), Olyphant; Kenneth J. McDowell (D), Scranton; and Michael J.Bodnar (R), Dunmore.

Treasurer: Edward Karpovich (D), Clarks Summit.

Clerk of Judicial Records: Mary F. Rinaldi, (D) Dunmore.

Coroner: Joseph J. Brennan (D), Carbondale.

City of Scranton Controller: Roseann Novembri­no (D), 1701 Washburn St.

Scranton City Council:

William Courtright (D), Todd Hartman (D), Lee Morgan (D), Robert E. McGoff Jr. (D), Greg Popil (D), Andrew M.Sbaraglia (D), Bob Bolus Sr.

(R), Giovanni Piccolino (R), Pat Rogan (R), and Jim Williams (R)