After months of legal battles that may not be over, Brenda Sacco promised to work hard for Lackawanna County residents Wednesday as she took the oath of office as the county’s newest commissioner.
Sacco, 53, of Dunmore, replaces former Commissioner Matt McGloin, whose Feb. 24 resignation sparked a long court battle over his replacement between Commissioner Bill Gaughan and the county Democratic Party.
Sacco, only the third female commissioner in the county’s 147-year history, thanked the county common pleas court judges for appointing her.
“I want to thank the Democratic Party and my family and all my friends that had faith and that have supported me,” she said. “And I look forward to serving the residents of Lackawanna County and working very, very hard because I truly love this county and want to make it a great place to live and to work.”
The judges chose Sacco on Sept. 4 over Scranton School Director Bob Casey, one of three candidates the party recommended three days after McGloin resigned. The other candidate, Olyphant Council President James Baldan, withdrew just before the judicial interviews.
Gaughan fired Sacco
Sacco's ascent puts her on a Board of Commissioners whose previous majority, McGloin and Gaughan, dismissed her as the county's top economic development official in January 2024.
Gaughan and McGloin did not publicly explain their reasons for letting Sacco go. Gaughan declined to explain Wednesday.
He did not attend the swearing-in ceremony. He cited a previously scheduled meeting and said he’s “also working on the budget.” In a telephone interview later, he said he can work with Sacco.
"I'll work with anybody who wants to do the right thing," he said. "I'm trying to institute the plan that we developed last year so that we never get back to a position where the county's almost insolvent and running out of money before the end of the year."
Several county employees Gaughan and McGloin appointed did attend the ceremony. So did Commissioner Chris Chermak, a Republican.
Chermak, not part of the decision to dismiss Sacco, has praised her performance.
“I have a great relationship with Brenda Sacco, so I have no issues working with her,” Chermak said Tuesday.
Sacco on reassessment
Sacco promised to evaluate whether to delay implementation of the county's reassessment, whose new values are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1.
"I wish I was here seven months ago," Sacco said. "Because ultimately, I should have been here seven months ago. So, we're going to look at it, but I'm here today, and I'm going to work really, really hard to really look at the reassessment, look at the budget, and ... see what we can do."
Gaughan and the county's solicitor has warned a delay would revive the taxpayer lawsuit that forced reassessment and subject the county to legal penalties.
Sacco, who took part in a county 2026 budget hearing later in the day, said she hasn’t reviewed the budget, which does not raise property taxes.
“But (with) my background in finance accounting, and my expertise and experience in county government, I will be going through it with a fine-tooth comb,” she said. “I don't believe there should be any further tax increases.”
Ruling saved Sacco
A state Supreme Court ruling Monday cleared the way for Sacco's swearing in by upholding the county home rule charter process that led to her appointment, the process Gaughan challenged for months.
Based on the judges’ September order appointing her, Sacco will serve until a successor is elected or Jan. 3, 2028, the end of McGloin’s term.
Her term is set to end as early as next month after voters choose McGloin's longer-term replacement in a Nov. 4 special election scheduled by the county Board of Elections. The board will have to certify the results before the special election winner can replace Sacco.
Sacco is not a candidate in the special election. The candidates are former state Rep. Thom Welby, of Scranton, a Democrat; former natural gas utility projects manager Chet Merli, of Blakely, a Republican; and Michael Cappellini, an independent.
The Democratic lawsuit
However, the county Democratic Party, which chose Welby as its nominee, still has a lawsuit pending in county court that aims to invalidate the election. The suit contends the county Board of Elections decision to call the special election was illegal.
Potentially, Sacco could remain commissioner if the court invalidates the election.
Democratic chairman on the suit
Late last month, county Democratic Party chairman Chris Patrick said the party would drop the suit after county court judges refused to issue a temporary injunction blocking the election and the state Commonwealth Court upheld the decision.
After watching Sacco take the oath of office, Patrick declined to say if the party would live with the special election results if Cappellini wins. Gaughan has endorsed Cappellini.
“We will see what goes on in the special election and what we will or won't live with,” Patrick said. “We will see what happens after the special election.”
Sacco and her lawyer, attorney Paul James Walker, declined to say if they would take legal action to keep her as commissioner after the special election.
“We’ll see,” Walker said.
Gaughan said he's concerned with "the insinuation" that Sacco might serve the rest of McGloin's term.
"To me, that is outrageous to even think that, and it's a bit delusional, because there's a special election going on, and that essentially would disenfranchise thousands of voters throughout Lackawanna County," he said. "So that part I really don't understand, and I don't get, and I'm not quite sure what they're doing by saying that, but we'll see what they end up doing."
Sacco's previous employment
Sacco resigned her job as an administrative officer at the State Workers’ Insurance Fund on Wednesday just before taking the oath.
If the special election winner becomes the person to serve out the rest of McGloin’s term, Sacco will have given up a state job that, according to state records, paid $80,841 to serve as commissioner for less than a month. The commissioner post pays $88,929.
At the insurance fund, her boss is George Kelly, her predecessor as county economic development director. Sacco, who started working for the county in August 2013, was Kelly’s deputy economic development director.
Asked why she would leave a secure state job for a commissioner post she may lose soon, Sacco said she did it because “I believe in this county.”
“I worked here for 11 years, and I truly that I believe I can make a positive impact,” she said. “And that didn't change from my initial efforts seven months ago to come into this role. So, I truly do believe I can make an impact for however long I'm here, and hopefully it's to serve out the term and we'll see what happens.”
Kelly, the insurance fund’s underwriting manager, attended her swearing-in ceremony. He later said he did not promise to rehire Sacco if she must leave the commissioner post.
“If we decide to fill that position, we’ll post it and she’ll have to apply,” he said.
Patrick and Gaughan have repeatedly and sharply criticized each other for months.
“This took so long, and it was an injustice to the taxpayers of Lackawanna County,” Patrick said. “We needed to have three commissioners all along, and this just went on way too long. And to me, it was nothing but games and lawsuits and a power struggle. This shouldn't have been about Chris Patrick and Bill Gaughan. This should have been about the people, the taxpayers in Lackawanna County. They deserve better.”
Patrick called Sacco’s becoming a commissioner “a great day” for residents and taxpayers.
“You know, Brenda Sacco is an incredibly qualified person. Her resume is impeccable,” he said.
In response, Gaughan called Patrick "the definition of a backroom wheeler and dealer."
"It is absolutely insanity that he is trying to come off like the middle of the road person here," Gaughan said. "He is in charge of the machine here in Lackawanna County that is taking its last gasps of breath. And, you know, it's a vendetta against me, because I don't, won't give into their every whim and every time they call me and ask me for a job or this or that or the other thing."
Sacco background
Sacco served as county planning and economic development director for five years until her dismissal shortly after Gaughan and McGloin took office in January 2024. Before that, she served years as deputy director.
Sacco had an extensive business background before joining the county. She worked more than a decade in banking in New York City, ran a popular Dunmore restaurant, then returned to financial work locally.
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.
