The LuLac Edition #3633, November 3rd, 2017

LUZERNE COUNTY COUNCIL RACE

The Luzerne County Council race is shaping up to be one of great interest to political junkies in this region. However, in terms of the General Public, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of buzz.
The County Council form of government has now fragmented politically. No longer are there blanket endorsements of two teams of each party. With a mix of ten candidates, all of them are of course asking for party support but also are trying to build a niche of their own.
Plus there are Democratic members of Council telling me this is a good guy and I’d like to work with him as well as Republican members telling me this Democrat has the ability to be work with our set of beliefs.
Then you have party stalwarts who are narrow casting their power, perceived or real, on one particular candidate. Paul Maher’s backing of Wendy Cominsky comes to mind.
So the dynamic is way different and can make this election very tough to predict.
If you look at the two paths two retiring members of the Council took to get elected 4 years ago, you’ll see what I mean. Eileen Sorokas ran a traditional Democratic campaign pulling out all the stops and even invoking the name and photo of FDR. Her run was focused and she built a coalition of old time Democrats as well as newcomers to get a spot on Council. The fact that she has become a Demo-Trump does not take away the fact that her campaign highlighted her strengths in a subtle but effective way.
On the GOP side, the shock of the night to everybody but her, was Kahty Dobash’s win. Dobask finished with a 17,000 vote win. Like Serokas she was everywhere on the campaign trail, made constant radio appearances and had the reputation of going after the County honchos. I think they are calling that now “Talking truth to power” but she made sure that voters knew she was the one making the noise.
Both of these candidates ran before and that should be a note to others in this race who will not hit the mark on the first try.
So with that back drop, here’s a listing of the candidates and what we think.

COUNTY COUNCIL DEMOCRATS

SHEILA SAIDMAN

The Kingston attorney was the high vote getter in the primary. She did well on the West Side and made inroads into other areas of the County. Her work reviewing financial agreements at PNC and prior experience with contracts in private business can be seen as adding a much needed gravitas to the Council. Her experience at the PSEA for 16 years has representing professional and non-professional union members contract negotiations, grievances and unfair labor practices will come in handy too. In her time there she reviewed and researched answers to questions on legal matters relating to member's questions. She has been a constant pretty much everywhere on the campaign trail and will most likely win. Once elected though, with taxpayers still bearing the brunt of a County debt and facing another tax increase, let’s hope she doesn’t side too much with County workers who are pretty much prone to whining when they re asked to do a full days work. 
All that stated, Saidman seems to be the most well rounded candidate the Dems have to offer and as they say in some parts of the County, "That ain't nuthin". 

LINDA HOUCK

Linda is an incumbent member of the Council and has acquitted herself well in both trhe Chairmanships and Vice Chairs of the Council. She is knowledgeable, forthright and has been running a campaign that highlights her experience. One great thing about her is the ability to try to rein in unruly factions on the Council as well as reach a consensus. Since the council was founded, Houck has been one of the foundation blocks that has made that body (some said it was doomed to failure) a working, viable success. To not keep her on board would be dumb.

WENDY COMINSKY

Cominsky has been the Energizer bunny (well pretty much all of them have) of Council candidates this year. Right out of the box, she hit the ground running and by some was underestimated. But her showing in the primary told a different story. Cominsky, like Saidman has a powerful base of support right out of the box. Paul Maher former aide to Congressman Kanjorski has been rounding up support in the South Wilkes Barre Area. For a while this was known as the Barney Farms/South Wilkes Barre voting block that propelled Bill Amesbury into double nominations for Judge in 2009. This will not be an insignificant factor. Cominsky also brings with her support from the Back Mountain as well as a personal background that voters will hope she would advocate for them to be sure money is spent in the right places. 

MATTHEW VOUGH

Vough has also been a constant on the campaign trail. Again this is another candidate with a very strong base. Word is that Pittston wants a voice on Council and Democrats and cross over voters there are backing him. He’s been at pretty much every event, held a few of his own and is well liked. Vough’s family on both sides were Pittston area natives and that adds many people, both political and non political to his strength. Whether all of that will give him the fire power to cross te finish line will be know on November 8th. 

JOHN GADOMSKY

Gadomsky is making his second run for Council. A resident of Wyoming, he is what in the old days you’d call a self made man. Like Saidman he would bring union and contracting experience to the job. Gadomsky has been making the rounds and is doing a lot of signage throughout the area. 
He has name recognition from his last run and just may get a place on Council this time due to his hard work, contacts and affiliations. 

COUNTY COUNCIL-REPUBLICANS

HARRY HAAS

Haas was one of the first members of the Council. In my estimation, like Hauck one of the building blocks of success. Haas has shown guts in standing up to the tax crazies in this county who get their little itty bitty feelings hurt when taxes are raised to get out of debt. He is articulate and brings experience to the fore. Haas has been part of the move forward in the County Council. An example of his willingness to compromise is his decision to keep the tax collectors outside the Courthouse doing their job as well as trying to make meaningful cuts in the budget. His one thorn might be his employment as a Dallas Area School teacher where people in that community don’ necessarily “love” the Dallas Teachers despite what their yard signs say.

CHRIS PERRY 

Perry is being talked about on both sides of the aisle. I’ve seen him at a few events and he comes across as measured and straight forward. A member of The National Guard, Perry was an educator for many years. During his 36-year tenure at Hazleton Area, Perry taught biology, coached basketball and baseball, and served as athletic director. He oversaw a budget exceeding $1 million during his 25 years as athletic director. While I sure do not want to underestimate Perry work overseeing an Athletic Budget, I think once he gets a gander at the County budget, he’ll know he’s not in Kansas anymore. Perry can pull a block vote out of the Hazleton Area though and look for him to be a major player in this race. He is the one to watch out for to see if he can get cross over support from the Dems. 

MARC DIXON

 This is the second time around for Dixon. He is likeable, energetic and has been making a substantial push to get elected. Dixon, 47, is a business development director for Kodak Alaris, where he is responsible for more than 50 accounts in the United States, Canada and South America. In addition to business development, he handles marketing, legal and financial responsibilities.
Dixon believes his unique work experience will prove invaluable when working with other council members to address some of the challenges facing the county. Here’s the interesting thing about Dixon. He would bring a breath of fresh air on to Council. There are no political strings with him. No relatives working for a big shot, he’s successful enough not to try to barter his position for a family friend who’s looking for a job, has not been tied to union and will bring a new perspective to the council.

STEPHEN J. URBAN 

The younger Steve Urban is back for another try at Council. Urban was initially elected in 2011 with his father and despite a curious separate swearing in ceremony with the both of them, the younger Urban has acquitted himself well. Urban’s perspective was focused on tax payers first. He brings prior experience to the Council from his previous term. He has run a low key campaign and is hoping that name recognition and experience will pull him over the finish line.

GREG WOLOVICH

Wolowich has been non stop since being one of the first to announce in early 2017 for this job. Wolowich has been at every event in the area and has impressed people with his knowledge and grasp of how the County government should serve ALL of the towns. A graduate of King’s, Wolowich is Vice Chair of the 119th District. He is a working guy who has impressed. His accounting degree might come in handy perusing the spending plans that are presented. 
There are a few observers who say his placement at the bottom of the Council ballot might hurt. I disagree. He'll be easy to find if his campaign tells people exactly where he is. The campaign is already passing out cards with ballot placement that I'm sure will help. 

VIDEO OF COUNTY COUNCIL DEBATE

Here is a video of a recent Luzerne County Council Forum/Debate provided it to us by our good friend Scott Cannon of Video Innovations.