Former Lackawanna County official Brenda Sacco plans to take the oath of office Wednesday as former Commissioner Matt McGloin’s replacement.
County President Judge James Gibbons is scheduled to swear in Sacco at 10 a.m. in courtroom 4 of the county courthouse, her lawyer, attorney Paul James Walker confirmed Tuesday.
Gibbons confirmed that, saying Sacco asked to be sworn in.
Repeated efforts to interview Sacco, 53, of Dunmore, the past two days were unsuccessful. She referred a text message to Walker.
County Democratic Party chairman Chris Patrick had expected Sacco would not take the oath of office despite a Monday state Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for her to do so.
Sacco, an administrative officer for the state Workers Insurance Fund, would have to give up her state job to become commissioner and would have to give up the commissioner seat once the winner of a Nov. 4 special election to replace McGloin is certified later in the month, lawyers in the case said.
Because of that, Patrick said, he did not think Sacco would take the oath as commissioner.
McGloin resigned Feb. 24.
The Supreme Court ruling said political parties in Lackawanna County can continue relying on the county home rule charter to replace commissioners who leave office before their terms end.
Relying on the charter, the county Democratic Party executive committee, meeting three days after McGloin resigned, recommended Sacco and two others to the county common pleas court judges. The judges planned to interview the three, but the county and Commissioner Bill Gaughan went to court to block the process in February.
Gaughan and the county battled the county Democratic Party in county and state appeals court for months, but the party won before county judges and the state Commonwealth Court. Gaughan appealed again, but the Monday Supreme Court ruling settled the matter.
With that appeal still pending before the Supreme Court, the county Board of Elections, which includes Gaughan, met in late August and called for a special election Nov. 4 to elect someone to replace McGloin until Jan. 3, 2028, the official end of his term.
The following week, the county judges, citing the county and Commonwealth Court rulings, went ahead and interview Sacco and another of the county Democrats’ recommended candidates. They chose Sacco and said she could serve until a replacement is elected but no later than Jan. 3, 2028. But the Supreme Court, at Gaughan’s request, blocked her from taking the oath of office until it ruled on the process that led to her appointment.
The same week, the county Democratic Party went to court to block the special election. The bid for an emergency injunction to block it failed, but the party’s lawyer, attorney Adam Bonin, confirmed Tuesday its suit challenging the special election remains pending.
Walker cited that suit when asked if Sacco planned to step down once the special election winner is certified. He also could not say if Sacco would step down from her state job to become commissioner.
“That’s kind of up in the air,” Walker said. “There’s a ton of other uncertainty.”
Sacco is not a candidate in the special election. The candidates for McGloin's seat are Democratic nominee Thom Welby of Scranton, Republican nominee Chet Merli of Blakely and independent Michael Cappellini of Jessup.
In its 6-0 ruling Monday, the Supreme Court said the county home rule charter does not conflict with its administrative rule that allows county judges to replace county commissioners.
“Instead, the two provisions act in concert to provide the court of common pleas with a procedure to be followed when acting to fill a vacancy in the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners,” three of the five judges wrote in the main opinion. “And even if we were to conclude the provisions conflict, ... the charter does not impermissibly attempt to regulate judicial procedure.”
Two other judges filed a concurring but separate opinion.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Commissioner Bill Gaughan and the county's lawyer in the legal challenge mentioned was attorney Dan Brier, a partner in the Myers, Brier & Kelly law firm. Attorney Robert T. Kelly, Jr., also a firm partner, is a WVIA board member.
