The LuLac Edition #803, May 2nd, 2009

PHOTO INDEX: ATTORNEY TINA POLACHEK GARTLEY, TINA AND HER FAMILY AND CLERK OF COURTS ROBERT REILLY.

WAITING BY THE PHONE

Steve Corbett and his listeners today were a lot like teenage girls in the 1960s waiting by the phone for the ring from the boy who promised he’d call. Except this communication was not about puppy love but about honor. Honor as in keeping one’s word. Here’s the background on this story. For weeks Corbett had heard rumors that long time Clerk of Courts Robert Reilly was selling cars as a side job at a Wilkes Barre Twp car dealership. Nothing wrong with supplementing your income. We’ve all done that at one time or another. But apparently Reilly was selling cars during the hours he was supposed to be administering the Clerk of Courts office. The intrepid Corbett called the auto lot at 10:26AM and got Reilly on the blower. After a brief conversation, Reilly told the radio host he’d call him on the air at 5:06PM later that afternoon and explain what was going on. Needless to say, the call never came. Well since Reilly did not have the courage to explain himself, let me give you my take on this.
1. Reilly has been a long time, long serving public servant. He was elected to Wilkes Barre City Council in 1975 as a group of rookie politicos dubbed “The young turks”. Kevin Blaum, Lee Namey and Reilly all served on City Council with distinction. When Eugene Hudak, the then Clerk of Courts teamed up with Frank Crossin Junior in 1987 to try and defeat the Trinisewski/Phillips team for re-election to the Commissioner’s seat, Reilly ran for the Clerk of Courts position. He has served ever since and has been re-elected 5 times. He did take a stab at the State Rep’s seat left vacant by Blaum in 2006 but lost to current occupant Eddie Day Pashinski. For the most part, Reilly’s office has run without incident, until today.
2. Reilly has been supplementing his row office income by taking a side job. No big deal, he did it before with a sports shop as well as a beer concern. But there was no evidence that he did the moonlighting while on county time. The debate started after the news was released today that his job at the car lot conflicted with his time under the dome. Should a row officer do other work on county time?
3. Well, even though an office might be running efficiently, it is not ethical for the head of a row office to be working at another job at the same time he is being paid by the taxpayers. One of the callers to Corbett’s show, Lee, who identified himself as Reilly’s cousin said that Bob had to have the extra job to get his kids through school. Fair enough but let’s ask some questions on that point. Didn’t Reilly know that the salary was going to stay the same when he ran for re-election in 2007? And that salary, over $35,000, let me submit that there are thousands of people in Luzerne County scraping and scrimping on considerably less to put their kids through school. And I think very few of their employers are letting them have a second job in the hours they are supposed to be working the first! And with unemployment so high, wouldn’t you feel better if that second job Reilly has went to someone who actually has no job? Lee also said that a row office is a 24/7 job and that Reilly is on call all hours. He even said some row officers show up at the Courthouse on the weekend to work. I am so sure that is not true that I will promise this: if anyone can prove to me that Reilly worked a Saturday or a Sunday in the past 12 weeks in the Courthouse building, I will eat a pound of cow manure under the rotunda and donate $100 to Reilly’s favorite charity. And the said charity can’t be him!!!!!!
4. With all of the scrutiny the dome has come under the last few months, it is the height of arrogance of Reilly to even attempt something like this. As a long time advocate for higher pay for row officers (which I agree with if they work 8 hours a day!) he has lost any credibility as a spokesperson on the issue. And if he plays the “poor me, trying to get by” card with workers who have the lowest wages in the state, he might have a major problem on his hands.
5. There are many workers in Luzerne County with second jobs. But they are on weekends and after hours. Not during the time the taxpayers are supposed to be paying them.
6. On the car dealership website, Reilly talks about customer service. Maybe he should realize that Luzerne County taxpayers are his primary customers. They pay his salary. When you as a consumer don’t get good customer service, you move on to another vendor or product. I think if the voters in Luzerne County are smart (and I’m not 100% convinced of that) in the next election that Mr. Reilly dares to run in, he should be fired so he can devote more time to his car selling career.

BLOGGER MEET UP

The local bloggers in the area are having a meet up on Saturday 5PM at Mark’s Place in Wilkes Barre. They usually commemorate the Kentucky Derby and are inviting some office holders none of whom to my knowledge sell Am-Way or Avon. But just in case they are, I’m begging off.

JUDICIAL CANDIDATE BIO

As part of our on going series in covering the Luzerne and Lackawanna County Judicial races, we are going to do brief profiles on those candidates running. In today’s edition, we continue with Attorney Tina Polachek Gartley. The order was determined by our lottery at the LuLac Forum this past week.

TINA POLACHEK GARTLEY

Tina Polachek Gartley has been practicing law since 1991. The central focus of her career is family law and protecting the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She is the senior attorney at the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania and is of counsel at Koff, Mangan, Vullo, Gartley & Lach in Kingston, Pennsylvania. In 1996, Gartley became the first S.T.O.P. (Stop Violence Against Women) grant prosecutor in the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office. As a S.T.O.P. grant prosecutor, Gartley specialized in prosecuting crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence. Attorney Gartley handled all aspects of the criminal prosecution of sexual assault and domestic violence crimes from the initial investigation through the trial, sentencing and the Megan’s Law hearings that determined whether the defendant would be listed as a sexually violent predator. In addition to the criminal trials, Attorney Gartley was in PFA Court several times a week and prosecuted hundreds of Protection From Abuse Contempt Petitions. During this time she also instructed law enforcement officials on the protocols and procedures regarding sexual assault and domestic violence crimes and investigations. She also conducted trainings to medical, school and legal professionals. In 2002, Gartley parlayed her work with victims of crimes to a pilot program that was created in Lackawanna County. The Barbara J. Hart Justice Center was created by Governor Ridge and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and established legal offices that worked directly with and in partnership with sexual assault and domestic violence shelters. The Justice Center was created to provide civil legal representation to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties. In 2002, Attorney Gartley served as the managing attorney of the Justice Center and initiated the policies and procedures used in representing survivors. In 2004, Attorney Gartley became the Senior Attorney of the Justice Center and continues to promote the rights of survivors through her legal work and public speaking. Throughout her career, she participated on numerous local task forces working to advance the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties and most recently Susquehanna County. She continues to provide training to attorneys and instructed the Luzerne County Bar in 2007 and 2008 and has been an instructor for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on issues of child custody and sexual assault of children. Attorney Gartley served on the advisory board and as a board member of the Domestic Violence Service Center, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, from 1992-1997; the Valley Santa Board and the Montessori Board of directors. She is the acting president of the Plains Solomon PTA since 2005; Plains Baseball Board of Directors, a lector at Blessed Sacrament Church, CCD Teacher and actively involved in her children’s ice hockey, baseball, wrestling, soccer and golf activities. Gartley is a summa cum laude graduate of College Misericordia with a Bachelor of Science degree in History and English, minors in writing and Russian Area studies. She received her Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law and was appointed to the Order of the Barristers. Attorney Gartley is married to Scott C. Gartley and is the mother of three (3) sons; Shamus, Joshua and Ian. Her parents, Theresa Rakowski Polachek and Robert Polachek, reside

in Plains, Pennsylvania.

FUNDRAISER

There will be a Cocktail Party honoring Tina Polachek Gartley, Candidate for Luzerne County Judge on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 6 to 8 p.m. at Luna in Midtown Village 41 South Main Street Wilkes-Barre. Cost: $100 per person, $30 for Students & Seniors
Hosted by:Katherine Kaby Anselmi, Deborah Egidio, Susan Kolesar and Stephanie Wychock.