The LuLac Edition #1783, October 4th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: OUR COUNTY COUNCIL LOGO.

COUNTY COUNCIL RACE

11/11/11=11 COUNCIL MEMBERS

We are now into the month of October. There are only 5 weeks before Election Day. I’m not sure the people who are voters in this election truly understand the high stakes that this election is going to have on the future of this county. I’m not even sure the candidates themselves realize their responsibilities. Here are the facts:
On 11-11-11, how’s that for irony, the winners of the Luzerne County Council race will be certified. 11 members of the Council will be put in charge of the government. 11-11-11-11. The people who are on the Transition committee will be joined by the elected 11. The duties and responsibilities to this newly elected council will begin immediately after certification. This Council will be paid less than 9 grand a year and have no health benefits. The first thing they, as a body will need to do is study. They will have to look at what the Transition Committee did. They will have to understand the charter. Most importantly they will have to put aside all of the political rhetoric and actually become caretakers of the charter. These members will be the team that implements the charter. The charter passed and is the law. The Council members will be legislators. They will make sure the charter is followed. As members of Council they can’t amend the charter. The public needs to do that.
So the terms “fiscal watchdog”, “restoring integrity back to government” and “watching how the tax dollars are spent” have to be put aside. A “fiscal watchdog” is a catch all phrase. Sounds good but in the frame of this Council it won’t mean much. The Controller already does that and the County will have a Financial Department which will include the current Treasurer’s office as well as other financial areas of the county. “Restoring integrity back to government” is another laughable one I hear on the campaign trail. To me that is an insult to the work accomplished by Mary Anne Petrilla and the other Commissioners. Despite opposing the Charter, the Commissioners have done their best to make sure the Transition Committee got everything they needed and asked for in its work. . “Watching how the tax dollars are spent” is another campaign slogan that sounds good. But the budget has hundreds of line items. “Watching” is a campaign term. When the Council is seated, they will be asked by the new County Manager to act on recommendations of spending and consolidation. There may be cuts. There might be departments streamlined and reduced. If the candidates are serious about “watching the tax payer money” they better be serious about accepting cuts, increases, and whatever is needed to make the government functional. The County Council members can’t be 11 Mr. or Mrs. Smiths going to Washington. If they come in with that mentality, we’re doomed. The Council members were not elected to make change. They exist because the change already happened in the 2010 General Election. Voters said yes to the charter. They said yes to change. This first, historic County Council must be the agents of the change by providing a legislative majority that will make government run smoothly.
This will not be a ceremonial role. The 11 members elected are going to be very busy. The press will scrutinize every move they make. The Contenders will be exposed for who they are, the pretenders will be too. And no Council member can just say no without a reason. If they do, the media will make them look like an ass. Especially in the early stages, with no County Manager chosen, there will be no place to hide a Council member’s ambition, arrogance, laziness, stupidity or agenda.
The first 6 finishers will serve four years.
The last 5 will serve for two years. There will be accountability. But there also must be patience. This is huge change. History making change. A truly successful council member will have done their job if at the end of their term no one is happy.

FIRST ORDER

The Council will need to pick a County Manager. There have been 55 applicants applying for the position. So far the biggest debate is whether the names should be released. There will be intense lobbying to pick a Manager. The pressure will be ungodly. The crew at the Courthouse will have their favorite. The hapless business community will have one of their own prepped for the plum claiming that he or she can help the economy. Not the job. Job one of the Manager is to get the county on track. The unions will want to stake out their positions and try to enhance them. Every interest group in this County will want a piece of the new Council members. The power might be dizzying. My advice: put blinders on and get an unlisted phone number.

DEPARTMENT HEADS

Council will have to appoint interim department heads. The County will be divided into the following departments.
Administrative Services.
Operational Services.
Human Services.
Judicial Services.
Correction Services.
Public Defenders Office.
Department of Law.
Budget and Finance.
More than h50 cents of every budget dollar go to court administration, judges, judiciary employees, correctional services, Judicial records, and probation. THAT’S ONE HALF! There are 300 separate employees in the Judicial system. This in my opinion will be the biggest challenge. The Council as well as the new County Manager will have to make certain there is no overlap. Also there are jobs being obtained in the Judicial system that are never advertised. If you are a lawyer that is on suspension or you lost your license, not to worry, there is still a place for you in the Court system. The biggest battles are going to come in this area. Human nature will tell us that people will always want to cling to the status quo. Even more so if it is a lucrative status quo.
Another big issue down the line will be what to do with properties the county owns and can’t sell due to the economy. Will this council have the foresight to keep them and possibly use them as part of county government? Or sell them at a fire sale for a quick fix.
I’m not even going to get into the issue of Tax Collectors because that will be a political snake pit. And if someone is running on the sole platform that they are concerned about the way bills are paid, I suggest they read the charter. This is not part of the bigger picture, it is minutia that will only bog everybody down.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

When you meet one of these candidates, ask these 9 basic questions. Do not accept bromides and non specifics.
1. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT OUT OF BEING A COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER?
It’s okay to say you’re ambitious and want to be part of history. But the Council member has to be honest and not say, “watchdog, integrity,” and other campaign junk.
2. IT’S A BIG COUNTY, WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES AS AN ELECTED MEMBER?
3. ARE YOU WILLING TO SET ASIDE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THE GOOD OF THE WHOLE COUNTY?
I’d be interested to hear the responses of the Union ticket members and the candidates backing tax collectors.
4. TELL ME YOUR IDEAL OF AN IDEAL COUNTY MANAGER.
5. WOULD YOU SACRIFICE YOUR RE ELECTION FOR A TOUGH DECISION?
6. ARE YOU WILLING TO RAISE TAXES IF THERE ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS?
7. DEFINE ETHICS FOR ME.
8. DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS A LEADER, FOLLOWER OR A PERSON OF FLEXIBILITY?
9. WHAT SPECIFICALLY DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT BEING?
If the candidates can’t answer these questions to your satisfaction, then scratch them off your list. You’d be better off voting for 5 or 6 rather than an entire team of 11 where half of them would be dead weight.
Here is a list of the candidates running by party.
Republicans
Stephen J. Urban
Rick Morelli
Kathleen Dobash
John Ruckno
Harry Hass
Blyth Evans
Bill James
Gene Kelleher
Gina Nevenglosky Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt
Michael Cabell
Democrats
Stephen A. Urban
Linda McClosky Houck
Jim Bobeck
Edd Brominski
Jane Walsh-Waitkus
Eileen Sorokas
Sal Licata
Tim McGinley
Michelle Bednar
M. Theresa Morcavage
Elaine Maddon Curry
Libertarian
Tim Mullen
Brian Bergman
Independent
Michael Lacey
Jeremy Packard
Rick Williams
American Independent
Charles Bible Buck Hatchko
There are 35 days left before the election. Candidates: drop the platitudes and start getting specific.
Voters: Start to ask questions. Let’s get to work.

SATURDAY SOUND OFF

Since I get a lot of heat for my Saturday Interview features (some people hate them and sometimes I can’t even stand to talk to myself let alone someone else!) I am making LuLac available to County Council candidates on the following Saturdays: October 15th, 22nd and 29th. Here are the rules:
1. Try to answer the above questions in 400 words or less.
2. Tell LuLac reader why you should be elected in 100 words or less. So you have 500 words total.
3. Any attack reference to any candidate running will be edited.
4. Send me a jpeg picture if you have one.
5. Send me a Word document, not a PDF.
6. First in, first on.
7. Participation is voluntary. We have room for all the candidates but we’ll do less if necessary.
I would have liked to have had a LuLac Forum but the sheer number of candidates has pretty made that impossible from a time perspective. (Our Judicial forum and City Council forums lasted an entire afternoon.) You can send your information to my e mail address: yonkstur@aol.com.