The LuLac Edition #362, Dec. 4th, 2007

PHOTO INDEX: LUZERNE COUNTY GOP COMMISSIONER STEVE URBAN AND CURRENT COUNTY CONTROLLER AND SOON TO BE DEMOCRATIC COMMISSIONER MARY ANNE PETRILLA.

URBAN'S COALITION?

We haven't seen it in twenty years but the formation of a coalition between a minority commissioner and a member of the majority just might be on the horizon in Luzerne County due to the debit card fiasco. Tonight on WYOU TV's Interactive 6 PM Newscast, Commissioner Steve Urban brought up that possibility when he said he'd support Controller Mary Anne Petrilla as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners come swearing in day. Urban said that would give Petrilla the opportunity to start fresh and hire a new management team. It is an intriguing possibility not without historical roots. In 1959, Commissioner Jarrett Jennings formed a coalition with Democrat Ed McCullough, in 1963 Democrat Ed Wideman got a few sweet deals by aligning himself with GOPer Bill Goss, and in 1967 when Wideman was elected to the Majority with top voter getter Frank Crossin, he promptly formed an alliance with Republican Ethel Price. In the eighties, GOPer Frank Trinisewski turned to the Dems leaving Reagnite Jim Phillips out in the cold while joining forces with Frank Crossin, Junior for a Dem majority. The recent debit card situation has Petrilla steaming. First, she was not appraised of the debit card clouds during the election when she ran with Greg Skrepenak and as soon as the story broke, the assumption was that because she ran with Skrep, she'd be more likely to sweep it under the rug. Sources close to Petrilla said that sentiment galled her to no end. Petrilla has asked for receipts and is still waiting. But her plan to do a re-audit of the expenses and ask for monies back that she deems as not appropriate puts her in the role of both watchdog and disciplinarian. If Petrilla comes out unscathed in this deal, surely majority commissioner Greg Skrepenak will be politically wounded. Petrilla was the top vote getter in the last election and it might be politically adventagious for her to form a coalition with Urban. During one of the debates, Petrilla made reference to the fact that as a woman in politics she didn't want to take over everything but just wanted a seat at the table. It appears that Petrilla now has more than a seat at the table but an opportunity to really change things in the county. By forming a unit with Urban, she can make administrative changes that will allow the team, Skrepenak, Urban and herself to start fresh. There are some who say she is too much of a party loyalist to even think about this scenario but politics has always been a game of survival. Personally Petrilla has built a career that is an honored one and filled with accomplishment. The fact that Skrepenak picked her as a running mate has to be a major consideration given her penchant for party loyalty. But if this debit card issue keeps on dripping like a Chinese water torture, Petrilla might be thrust into events she and Skrepenak never anticipated when they formed their alliance earlier this year. It is also significant that both Urban and Petrilla, major county officials, never were given access to a debit card. Skrepenak's management team was and if the "drip drip drip" continues, you might see a new Majority, a fusion ticket come 2008. Many say that would be the perfect prelude for another attempt at a Charter change that will either create one county executive or a larger board to govern the county. Urban is already in the pantry picking the place settings, time will tell if Mary Anne Petrilla wants a seat at the table or take the opportunity to build a new kitchen from scratch.

YOU MOTHER TUCKER!!!!

An old time wrester used to say, "Know your role". Apparently Rose Tucker, Democratic commissioner filling out Todd Vonderheid's term has become the mother figure to wayward politicos. On Steve Urban before the election when he went off the reservation releasing a confidential report, she was quoted as saying "I could just strangle him". And Deputy Warden's Sam Hyder's interview with the Times Leader revealed that Tucker told him if she was in the room with him, she'd "slap him in the face" for the debit card expenses. Mother figure, how about enforcer!

EYE OFF THE BALL

While the debit card fiasco is great sport in speculation, I fear that the concentration on floral, strip club and hotel expenses is taking our eye off the ball on otther major county issues that should be looked at closely. The Cargo Airport, the conflict between a row officer (Jill Moran) and the law form associated with it, the Juvie Detention Center and the Judges on the third floor. If the talk radio hosts, TV reporters and newspaper guys are serious, the debit card issue should be their starting point. The debit cards are sexy as a story but the mundane stuff, like the deals and contracts that give suspicion to the issues I've addressed must be looked into or else all this "hub bub" is just wasted energy.