County council to choose Kelleher’s replacement soon

Citizens' Voice, The (Wilkes-Barre, PA)

Jul. 22--Luzerne County council will begin the process to select a replacement for former Councilman Eugene Kelleher on Tuesday.

Kelleher, who had served as council vice chairman, resigned Friday after he closed on the sale of his Dallas Twp. home. He said last month he was moving to Lancaster County to be closer to family and to help with his son's insurance business.

Council will declare a vacancy and will likely appoint a new vice chairperson at Tuesday's meeting, according to council Chairman Tim McGinley.

That meeting will be held at Pittston Memorial Library, the first of four "away" meetings council will hold this year. Council normally meets at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

Council will likely use the same process to fill Kelleher's seat as it did when Edward Brominski resigned his council seat in January, McGinley said. Council selected Patrick Bilbow to serve the remainder of Brominski's term.

Kelleher's replacement must be a Republican, as is Kelleher, according to the county charter. Whoever council selects will serve until Jan. 6, 2020, when Kelleher's term was set to expire.

The opening will be advertised and those interested will be asked to submit a resume and letter of interest, McGinley said.

Council members will conduct public interviews of all applicants for the vacant seat, he said.

Five Republicans will appear on the ballot for six council seats in the November election: LeeAnn McDermott, Walter Griffith, Kendra Radle, Stephen J. Urban and Gregory Wolovich. Incumbent Councilman Robert Schnee, a Democrat, won the sixth Republican nomination through write-in votes.

Griffith has urged council not to select any Republican on the ballot to fill the vacant seat. The county administrative code should be amended to forbid that, according to Griffith.

McGinley on Sunday said that even if the administrative code were to be changed, that would not take effect in time to impact the selection of Kelleher's replacement.

When asked about the merits of Griffith's proposal, McGinley replied "there are some things to think about there."

While 12 people applied to replace Brominski in January, the fact that just a few months remain of Kelleher's term might impact the number who apply to replace him, according to McGinley.

"I don't see us getting a lot of interest only because of the time frame," he said.

Council will have 60 days to name Kelleher's replacement.

Kelleher, 75, served a two-year term on the first council formed when the county's home rule form of government took effect in 2012. He was elected to a four-year term in 2015.

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