Appointed to the job but not sworn in for legal reasons, Brenda Sacco still wants to become the next Lackawanna County commissioner, but not if she has to convince voters to hire her.
Testifying Wednesday in a court case that will determine if the county has a special election Nov. 4 to fill ex-Commissioner Matt McGloin’s seat, Sacco said she won’t run if a court rules the election must happen.
'I don't think I have enough time'
Sacco, 53, of Dunmore, said she would have to resign her $80,841-a-year job as an administrative officer at the State Workers’ Insurance Fund to run for the office. Two months isn’t long enough to convince voters her platform and experience make her right for the job, she testified.
“I don’t think I have enough time to do it,” Sacco said.
Sacco, the county Democratic Party’s top choice to replace McGloin and the choice of county common pleas court judges last Thursday, testified before three of the judges who picked her to fill out the rest of McGloin’s term. The three will rule on the party’s request to block the special election.
The case centers on whether a state law and past state appeals court ruling trump a county home rule charter provision that requires a special election to fill a vacancy in an elected office.
The county Democratic Party thinks no special election is necessary, but the county Board of Elections disagrees.
In somewhat of a surprise, the board voted Aug. 29 to schedule the special election to fill the rest of McGloin’s term, which expires Jan. 3, 2028. McGloin resigned in February.
Before the vote, the presumption for months was county common pleas court judges would appoint McGloin’s replacement — either from among three Democratic Party recommended candidates or through a new selection process run entirely by the judges without the party’s direct say.
The county and Commissioner Bill Gaughan and the county Democratic Party remain engaged in a court battle that’s reached the state Supreme Court over which process is correct.
Sacco cites qualifications
Sacco, who has a banking background and served 12 years as a key county economic development official, testified she sought the judges’ appointment because of her qualifications.
With her expertise, education and financial background, she thought she could make a difference serving the public, she said in response to a question from attorney Adam Bonin, the Democratic Party’s lawyer.
“I felt that serving one term would give me enough time to get in and make a positive impact,” she testified.
She had not decided if she would seek election in 2027 to remain in office beyond January 2028 if she were appointed.
“I can’t answer that,” she said in response to a question from county Board of Elections solicitor Christopher Caputo.
Sacco said she never would have sought to replace McGloin if she knew she had to run for the office this year in a special election.
She hasn’t formed an election committee, planned a campaign or taken any other steps to run, she testified.
Cappellini: 'We’re ready to go'
Another prospective candidate, Michael Cappellini, 36, of Jessup, has filed paperwork to run in the special election as an independent. He testified, too.
Cappellini said he started to think about running when he heard “rumblings” of the possibility of a special election three or four weeks ago.
Since then, he’s organized a campaign, gathering signatures on nominating papers, appointing a campaign chairman, even almost settling on a headquarters.
“So yeah, we’re ready to go if this election moves forward,” Cappellini said under questioning by his lawyer, attorney Francis Notarianni.
Under cross-examination by Bonin, Cappellini said he applied for the appointment, but the party never interviewed him.
Repeatedly, Bonin tried to make the point that for months, no one publicly raised the possibility of a special election because they believed an appointee would fill the rest of McGloin’s term.
“It was never challenged in March, never challenged in May, never challenged in June, never challenged in July,” he said.
No one raised having a special election during the months of court battles over which selection process should prevail either, he said.
“After all that, they decided there would be a special election,” he said.
Party chairman testifies
Bonin called to the witness stand county Democratic Party chairman Chris Patrick, who said county solicitor Don Frederickson advised him to use the home rule charter process to recommend candidates.
Patrick said Frederickson told him the appointment would be for the rest of McGloin’s term.
Bonin, who said it pained him to argue against a special election, challenged pro-special election arguments favoring one based on a 2021 Commonwealth Court ruling in a Luzerne County case and a 2025 Supreme Court ruling in Allegheny County.
In 2021, the Commonwealth Court allowed a special election in Luzerne County for district attorney. In 2025, the Supreme Court allowed a special election for Allegheny County Council. Like Lackawanna, Allegheny County has a home rule charter that calls for a special election, but neither seat was for commissioner, Bonin said.
Under state law, only judges can replace commissioners, and the replacements must serve until the end of a term, he said.
Beyond that, a 2001 Commonwealth Court ruling on the appointment of a new Lackawanna County district attorney under the charter found no special election was necessary, Bonin said.
In response, Caputo said the Democratic Party argued and the county court ruled in May that the charter process should be used to appoint a replacement.
If that’s true, the judges must continue to adhere to the charter, which calls for a special election, Caputo said. Even the 2001 Commonwealth Court case upheld the charter, he said.
“The Lackawanna County Democratic Party is being hypocritical,” Caputo said.
After McGloin resigned in February, the Democratic executive committee overwhelmingly recommended the judges choose Sacco, Olyphant Council President James Baldan or Scranton School Director Bob Casey.
The party relied on a time-tested process outlined in the county home rule charter to come up with the recommendations, but County Commissioner Bill Gaughan disputed its legality.
Gaughan, who favored Dunmore Mayor Max Conway, challenged the process in county court. His lawyer, attorney Dan Brier, argues state law, the state constitution and a state Supreme Court administrative rule trump the charter, and the judges should run their own selection process.
In May, two senior county common pleas judges backed the home rule charter process. Two months later, the state Commonwealth Court agreed. Gaughan appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case, but hasn’t ruled.
The county common pleas court judges appointed Sacco last week, but held off on swearing her in because of the Supreme Court appeal.
The county Democratic and Republican parties are scheduled to meet Thursday to choose candidates for the special election in case the court finds it’s necessary.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Commissioner Bill Gaughan’s lawyer, attorney Dan Brier, is a partner of the Myers, Brier & Kelly law firm. Attorney Robert T. Kelly, Jr., also a firm partner, is a WVIA board member.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS
Lackawanna County Commissioner Matt McGloin's resignation in February touched off a complex, monthslong replacement battle. For anyone trying to keep track of who's who and what happened when, here is a rundown of key developments.
