Latest news with #ScrantonCityCouncil

Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Smurl announces independent campaign for Scranton council
Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl will seek reelection as an independent candidate after withdrawing from Democratic primary contention in March over issues with his nomination petitions. Smurl, an incumbent Democrat who's served on council since December 2022, announced his independent run in a news release. 'Thanks to the overwhelming support and encouragement from my family and friends, I am happy to announce that I am running for reelection to Scranton City Council as an Independent candidate,' he said in the release. 'I want voters to know that I am committed to leading the city's future with independence, integrity and a shared intent to continue moving Scranton forward by supporting economic development, restoring parks and pools, and promoting cleaner, safer neighborhoods.' He joins a field of council candidates that includes Virgil Argenta, Patrick Flynn, Sean McAndrew, Marc Pane and incumbent Councilman Tom Schuster. Flynn, McAndrew and Schuster are all Democrats who won Democratic nominations in May's primary election. Pane, the lone Republican council candidate in that race, secured a GOP nomination in the primary. Argenta, who finished last in the Democratic primary for council, received enough Republican write-in votes to win a GOP nomination and advance to November's municipal election. McAndrew, a Scranton school director and nephew of Democratic Councilman Mark McAndrew, also won a GOP nomination with write-in votes and will appear on the November ballot as having both Democratic and Republican nominations. Council appointed Smurl in December 2022 to temporarily fill former Democratic Councilman Kyle Donahue's vacant seat after voters elected Donahue state representative. Smurl won reelection in 2023 to fill the remainder of Donahue's unexpired term and has served as council president since the beginning of 2024. Smurl filed earlier this year to run for reelection as a Democrat but withdrew from the primary field in mid-March, citing an issue with signatures on his nomination petitions. 'It came to my attention over the weekend that some of my campaign people got a bit overzealous … and actually got signatures that were not verified,' Smurl told The Times-Tribune on March 17. 'All it means is they didn't actually see the people sign a few of these.' He described the signatures in question as valid, but said at the time he didn't want the mistake to become an issue. The release announcing Smurl's independent candidacy says he felt an obligation to run despite the setback 'in order to continue supporting Scranton's senior citizens and working families, as well as small business owners and laborers throughout the city.' 'I heard from so many folks, urging me to run, that I felt I just couldn't let them down,' he said. 'And even though elections are never easy, I have a great team of supporters and volunteers that I'm incredibly grateful to have by my side. We're looking forward to fighting the good fight for the people of Scranton.' Smurl lives in South Scranton, is well-known for his annual 'Christmas Lights House' display on Prospect Avenue and is the longtime proprietor of Smurl HVAC LLC. He's also generally seen as a political ally of Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and, as council president, communicates regularly with the mayor and her administration. Cognetti also seeks reelection this year. She comfortably defeated former Scranton School Board President Bob Sheridan in May's Democratic primary and will face Republican accounting executive Patricia Beynon and possible independent candidates for mayor in November. There are three council seats up for grabs in the November's election. The winners will serve alongside Councilman Mark McAndrew and Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild, both Democrats. 'I know that what I'm doing is working,' Smurl said Wednesday in a phone interview. 'Just look at what we're doing and how well the city is doing.'

Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scranton council president apologizes for not stopping derogatory remarks
Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl apologized Tuesday for not stopping derogatory remarks made during public comment at the June 3 weekly council meeting. Smurl's apology that opened council's meeting Tuesday came in response to comments the prior week by resident Bob Bolus opposing having the rainbow flag flying at City Hall for Pride Month, as well as other remarks Bolus directed at a pro-LGBTQ resident, Angela Ramone, who was in attendance at that meeting. The events also resulted in several other residents attending Tuesday's council meeting to express support for LGBTQ people and condemn hate speech, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of the weekly meeting posted online. According to ECTV videos and minutes of council meetings, preceding events at council meetings included: April 29: Ramone advocated for LGBTQ protections and challenged council members to voice support for them. May 13: Ramone expressed opposition to a bill in the state Legislature that would ban transgender athletes from competing in sports in the state and 'require genital inspections for any player that is accused of being transgender, specifically playing in women's sports. This bill is incredibly, incredibly invasive and disgusting and hurtful.' May 27: Bolus spoke about his efforts and intent to run for mayor of Scranton. Ramone noted a prior Bolus felony conviction makes him ineligible to serve as city mayor. June 3: Noting June is Pride Month, Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild said having a rainbow pride flag raised on June 1 on a City Hall flagpole was a great way to have the LGBTQ community feel welcome and a part of the city. Bolus spoke directly to Ramone, who was seated in the gallery, as having made false comments the prior week about Bolus that 'disparaged' his name. He warned Ramone against battling him and 'mouthing off about me.' Bolus then called the pride flag raised June 1 at City Hall a 'slap in the face' to veterans and likened it to an affront to the 'Rule of God,' among various other remarks. Ramone reminded council of its rules prohibiting anyone speaking during public comment from addressing any individual council or audience member, and asked that council enforce its rules. Resident Doris Koloski said she's glad the pride flag is being flown and it wouldn't be needed 'if people didn't act like Mr. Bolus.' Resident Norma Jeffries said no one has a right at council 'to degrade or bash' anyone because of who they are, and chastised Smurl for not gaveling down Bolus. Councilman Bill King agreed with Koloski and Jeffries and told Smurl he needs 'to start using that gavel because our rules were violated and it's not acceptable.' On June 6, Smurl submitted to council a letter of apology that he read aloud at Tuesday's meeting. 'I understand a lot of hateful statements were made and some were directed towards speakers and council members. It is my job as council president to not allow hateful and derogatory remarks to be directed at any one individual. As council president, I take full responsibility for not doing my job to maintain order at last week's meeting. I apologize for not performing my job properly,' Smurl's apology said in part. 'Going forward, I will fulfill my duties that I promised to uphold when I was sworn in as council president.' Scranton city councilman Gerald Smurl walks out of council chambers at Scranton City Hall before a council meeting in 2022. Also at Tuesday's meeting, Bolus said, 'I make no excuse for last week.' He read a lengthy statement that noted Rothchild on June 3 expressed opinions about Pride Month and the pride flag and he should be allowed to express his opinions. As his speaking time ran out, Bolus was saying he filed a lawsuit to have the pride flag removed from City Hall. Bolus filed that lawsuit Friday in Lackawanna County Court on a pro-se basis, meaning representing himself without an attorney. This lawsuit as a 'mandamus petition for extraordinary relief' sought to compel the removal of the pride flag from City Hall, as well as having it barred from display there and at all public buildings in the county. Also on Friday, Lackawanna County Judge Terrence Nealon dismissed Bolus' lawsuit on various procedural errors, including that he did not properly file or serve the action or name defendants. Nealon dismissed the case 'without prejudice,' meaning Bolus could try to do it again properly. Bob Bolus Sr. (COURTESY OF BOB BOLUS SR.) Some residents who spoke Tuesday in support of the LGBTQ community urged people to speak out against intolerance. 'When someone stands at this podium and spews dehumanizing rhetoric and it's met with a 'thank you' or no response at all it sends a message, a message that hate has a place here. Silence is not neutrality. It comes off as complicity,' resident Jessica McGuigan said. 'We are living in a moment where lines are being drawn across the country, in our own backyards, and the fear, the rhetoric of fear, division and dehumanization is not abstract. It's being written into laws, spoken from pulpits and shouted at school board meetings.'

Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chris Kelly Opinion: Bolus kicks off Pride Month with foot in mouth
I gave up on Bob Bolus years ago. From the late '90s to the early aughts, we were friendly adversaries who appreciated each other's opinionated natures and willingness to say things no one wanted to hear. Bob was wrong about everything, but his ignorance and arrogance were unquestionably authentic. He was a bellicose showboat with a cracked hull, but he disrupted local government meetings with a pigheaded glee I found adorable. It was fun. For a while. Bob was a handy foil for mocking whatever crackpot cause he was hawking at the moment, and he loved the ink and attention his tedious tirades generated. He was cartoonishly obnoxious, but rarely sniped at anyone who wasn't an elected official, a candidate for office, or me. That changed in 2018, when Clarks Summit native Adam Rippon became the first openly gay athlete to qualify for the U.S. Winter Olympics Team. Rippon won a bronze medal in men's figure skating and brought positive international attention to Northeast Pennsylvania. Bob was not on board. Seated next to me on a panel discussion of politics in the Trump era at Keystone College (my alma mater), he said 'no one would care' about Rippon 'if he wasn't gay.' He said 'real Americans' don't want to be 'represented by a gay.' Homophobia was a new part of Bob's act. There was nothing funny about it. Loony, loud and ludicrous were replaced with unhinged, hissy and hateful. The next year, Bob debuted his new material on televised Scranton City Council meetings. The region's most cringeworthy 'Cro-MAGA Man' waged a quixotic campaign against Jessica Rothchild, then a candidate for council. As I opined at the time, Rothchild became the first openly gay member of council thanks in large part to the bigoted bilge Bob spewed from the public podium. The married mother of two is now serving her second term. She was on the dais Tuesday when Bob came to share his rancid thoughts on Pride Month and trash a young woman for daring to make a veiled reference to a truth about himself Bob refuses to accept. Here it is, for the umpteenth time: A past felony conviction disqualifies Bob from holding public office. If by some inconceivable quirk of the universe a majority of Scranton voters said, 'To hell with everything' and elected him mayor, he would be ineligible to serve. Bob has railed against this reality for years, but it remains resolute. Bob claimed he was triggered by Angel Ramone, who recently moved to Scranton and routinely advocates for marginalized minorities at the public podium. She didn't say his name, but noted the futility of 'a candidate' who isn't eligible to serve. Bob was also triggered by the sight of a Pride flag flying over City Hall. (If it was a pro-Trump or 'Bleep Joe Biden' banner, he'd salute it 24 hours a day with a lump in his throat and reverent tears streaming down his cheeks.) He also slandered the Pride flag as an affront to military veterans, as if no LGBTQ+ patriots have sacrificed life and limb in defense of Our Republic. That's an ugly, obvious lie, which Bob ironically capped by saying, 'Respect is earned, not demanded. They (LGBTQ+) didn't earn the respect they demand.' Bob earned no respect as he deliberately misgendered Ramone several times, called her 'sweetheart' and threatened legal retribution if she continued to trigger him by telling the truth in a public forum. I loathe giving Bob the ink and attention he craves, but he delivered an encore performance at Wednesday's Lackawanna County commissioners' meeting and our LGBTQ+ neighbors deserve to be heard and defended. Neighbors like Jessica McGuigan, 40, a mental health therapist who works primarily with the transgender community. Watching Bob's rant, she was most disappointed by council President Gerald Smurl's failure to step in and stop the nasty personal attack. 'Listen, I think people deserve the right to speak and to be heard,' McGuigan said. 'That's what these forums exist for, as long as it doesn't get to a place where it's inciting hatred, violence or hurt towards marginalized people.' Council's rules for public comment, created in response to blowhards like Bob, are not vague: 'No person, including members of council, shall use their time during Citizens' Participation to personally insult or attack any individual. Name-calling, profanity, racial or ethnic slurs, discriminatory remarks based on race, color, religion, national origin … sex, gender identity, sexual orientation … shall not be permitted.' Those who violate the rules 'shall be ruled out of order' and 'may be removed' by a police officer at the president's request. Bob clearly violated the rules and was rightly condemned by members of council and sane, decent citizens who followed him at the podium. Smurl chose not to intervene while Bob trolled one of the city's most vulnerable constituencies and made a mockery of productive public participation in government. 'The other thing that really pushed every button that I have was at the end, when the council member (Smurl) thanked him for his remarks,' McGuigan said. 'And then, after he gets off of the microphone, (Bob) proceeds to continue yelling hateful things … 'We're all a part of this community, and we deserve to feel safe in public places. And it particularly hits differently during Pride Month, which is a month that's all about the journey that we've had to get to a place where we have visibility. So for this person to go to a city council meeting and express their views is one thing, but I also feel like it's important to emphasize that there are opinions that can cause harm and could potentially incite violence.' I didn't call Smurl to ask him why he didn't gavel down Bob's diatribe and have him removed if he refused to relent. I don't care why. Smurl had a duty to direct the meeting in compliance with the standards set by council and the higher code of common decency. He failed. Smurl should learn from the experience and do better next time. And there will be a next time. Bob will be back. At the podium and, regrettably, in this column. Sometimes, ignoring him is not an acceptable option. It will pain him to read it, but this isn't about Bob. It's about a once entirely marginalized community who refuses to go back 'into the closet' because bigots are triggered by their mere existence. I stumbled my way through high school in the Reagan '80s. There were no openly gay or transgender students in my class, and no support or advocacy groups for any minority more at risk than the Dungeons and Dragons Club. There was no Pride Month, no rainbow flags flying over government buildings and no safe space for human beings whose chief demand is to be treated like human beings. The LGBTQ+ community and society at large have come a long way since 'gay' was used as a synonym for 'weird' or 'lame' or worse. 'Queer' is no longer an epithet. Words once used as weapons are now signifiers of pride. 'It mirrors a little bit of what people in the brown and Black communities did,' McGuigan said. 'We're reclaiming words and terms that have been hurled and used as vitriol towards us.' Bob gave up on learning anything new years ago. As a show of respect, I used to call him before mocking whatever crackpot cause he was hawking at the moment. We'd trade insults and swear at each other, but hang up peaceably. I didn't bother reaching out this time. I've heard it all before, and nothing he might say could add redeeming context to his dehumanization of people who dare demand to be accepted for who they are. I accept Bob for who he is — a bitter, petty old crank who's mad at a world he won't even try to understand and who will say anything to get attention. Bob would (and likely will) say the same about me, but, as he demonstrates any time he's near a microphone, Bob is wrong about everything. CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, wishes you and yours a happy, peaceful Pride Month. Contact the writer: ckelly@ @cjkink on X; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook.

Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lackawanna County eyes grant for countywide stormwater management study
Lackawanna County hopes to enlist all 40 of its municipalities to back an application for a state grant to study the possibility of creating a countywide stormwater management plan. So far, nine municipalities — Vandling, Carbondale, Mayfield, Jermyn, Elmhurst Twp., Olyphant, Dickson City, South Abington Twp. and Ransom Twp.— each recently approved a 'memorandum of agreement' to participate in the development of such a regional approach to stormwater management; and two more — Scranton and Old Forge — might be next, said county Regional Planning Manager Jessica Edwards. The county aims to apply later this month for a state Department of Environmental Protection grant to fund a 'Phase 1 Scope of Study' to start the development of managing stormwater on a countywide basis, she said. 'It is signing on that they will take part if we get the grant,' Edwards said. 'We're trying to get one (a memo of agreement) from every municipality' by June 13. The effort comes under state Act 167, which 'requires counties to prepare stormwater management plans and municipalities to adopt ordinances to regulate land development in a manner with the county's plan,' according to legislation on the matter pending before Scranton City Council The developments are the latest in the ongoing issue of how best to handle stormwater management. The matter came to the forefront nearly a decade ago, when the Scranton Sewer Authority in 2016 sold the sewer authority serving the city and Dunmore to Pennsylvania American Water. Before the sewer sale, the SSA owned all of the sewer-system infrastructure, including lines that convey only sewage wastewater, portions that combine sewage and stormwater, and parts that carry only stormwater. The city was, and remained, responsible for the portion of stormwater-only lines, called the municipal separate stormwater system, or MS4. Previously, both the city and sewer authority had a hand in maintaining this stormwater segment. The city fully inherited the stormwater segment, as PAW bought only the first two portions of sanitary sewer and combined sewer overflows. In 2019, a consultant for the city determined a regional authority would be preferable, but if that's not possible, the city would have to create its own stormwater management authority. By the fall of 2023, the city was still advancing a regional concept, possibly with an eight-member regional startup model. It did not occur. Flash flooding that has periodically erupted throughout the county in recent years also has highlighted stormwater management issues. Last Tuesday, Scranton City Council introduced a resolution from the administration of Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti to approve an 'intergovernmental agreement of cooperation' and memorandum of understanding between the city and county for a countywide stormwater management plan. Speaking during that meeting, Scranton resident Joan Hodowanitz wondered if the resolution means the county would assume the responsibility for a regional stormwater management authority, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video posted on YouTube. 'Long, long ago in a galaxy far away, we were talking about who's going to form a stormwater management authority and I never saw the shoe drop,' Hodowanitz said. 'The stormwater management plan is long overdue and hopefully it'll take off like a bat out of hell. We need it.' This resolution is on Scranton council's agenda for a vote on adoption during the regular weekly meeting for Tuesday,at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Meanwhile, Old Forge issued a public notice in The Times-Tribune on May 31 for a special meeting of the borough council on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Borough Building to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the county for a countywide stormwater management plan. 'We try to stay on board with Lackawanna County. We don't want to be left alone by ourselves,' Old Forge Borough Manager MaryLynn Bartoletti said. 'I think everybody's trying their hardest to come up with some kind of plan.'

Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Write-in votes in Lackawanna County add candidates in general election
Write-in votes cast in the May 20 primary throughout Lackawanna County will likely add several candidates to ballots for various offices in the Nov. 4 general election, county elections Director Beth Hopkins said Thursday. The Lackawanna County Department of Elections and Voter Registration recently completed a count of the 22,669 write-in votes cast in the primary. According to the department, the minimum numbers of write-in votes needed to produce a winning candidate were: 250 for a countywide office; 100 for a Scranton or Carbondale city office; 10 for a borough or township office; 10 for a municipal judge of elections post; and five for a municipal inspector of elections. More than one person might meet or exceed the write-in threshold for any given office, but only the top write-in vote-getter in a race wins the write-in nomination, Hopkins said. Having 22,669 write-in votes is a relatively large amount, but not necessarily unusual in an election with nominations for municipal judge of election and inspector of election posts up for grabs throughout the county, Hopkins said. Many of those getting written in for these elections posts already work at polling places and likely would accept the write-in nominations, she said. Candidates in other races scoring sizable numbers of write-in votes also did not occur by happenstance. 'It seems like they were actively running a write-in campaign,' and probably would accept their nominations, Hopkins said of some candidates. Some of the results of write-in voting include: Lackawanna County sheriff: Glenn Capman received 1,122 Republican write-in votes to win the GOP nomination. He now could challenge incumbent Democratic Sheriff Mark McAndrew, who ran uncontested in his party primary. This sets up a rematch of 2021, when Capman ran unsuccessfully for sheriff as a Republican against McAndrew. Meanwhile, McAndrew received 808 Republican write-in votes in the May 20 primary, meaning he came in second and thus did not win a GOP nomination. There also were 316 other 'scattered' write-ins for sheriff. Lackawanna County register of wills: Vanessa Lienert received 1,183 Republican write-in votes to win the GOP nomination. She now could challenge in the general election incumbent Fran Kovaleski, who ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, Kovaleski received 156 Republican write-in votes, which was not enough to top Lienert for the GOP nod. There also were 264 scattered write-ins for this office. Lackawanna County district attorney: Incumbent Brian Gallagher, who ran uncontested in the Democratic primary, received 1,302 Republican write-in votes to also win the GOP nomination. This means his name will appear on the general election ballot as having secured both Democratic and Republican nominations. Scranton City Council: Virgil Argenta, who lost in the Democratic primary for council, finishing last among six candidates with three nominations available, received 134 Republican write-in votes to win a GOP nomination. Sean McAndrew, who ran as a Democrat for council and won a nomination, coming in second of the six Democratic candidates, also secured a Republican nomination with 131 GOP write-in votes. He will appear on the general election as having both Democratic and Republican nominations. Republican Marc Pane was the lone candidate running for council in the primary and won a GOP nomination. The other two Democrats who won nominations in their party's primary were Patrick Flynn and incumbent Councilman Tom Schuster. The results of the primary and the write-in votes would set up a council contest for three seats in the general election between Flynn, McAndrew, Schuster, Pane and Argenta. The elections department will send letters to winning write-in candidates notifying them of their write-in nominations and giving them a deadline to accept or reject their nomination, Hopkins said. This date likely would be a few days before the Aug. 11 deadline for any candidate to withdraw from the election, she said. Meanwhile, Aug. 1 is the last day for independents to file nomination papers to run for whatever office they seek in the general election. So, the full makeup of the general election ballot won't become clear until around late August, after independents file and survive possible challenges to their paperwork, and after the winning write-in candidates accept their nominations, Hopkins said.