The Luzerne County Board of Elections will hold a public hearing next week to rule on signature challenges on a petition to repeal the county’s non-discrimination ordinance.
Assistant Solicitor Gene Molino said the public hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 16 at the Penn Place building in Wilkes-Barre.
Molino said the hearing will specifically address the challenge filed by Luzerne County Council member Chris Belles which disputed more than 400 signatures on a petition to repeal the county’s new non-discrimination ordinance or put it up for a county-wide referendum.
The county-wide non-discrimination ordinance, passed on June 9, extends discrimination protections to classes not included under statewide and federal law — including protections from discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, veteran status, and physical or mental disability.
Former Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith and a committee of petitioners are circulating a petition to either repeal the ordinance or put it up for a county-wide referendum.
They filed an initial petition of 1,899 signatures to begin the process, but Luzerne County Council member Chris Belles challenged the validity of 475 of those signatures based on a list of 1,584 signatures he said were available for public review.
On Thursday afternoon, Belles said he had received pages with the 322 signatures that were missing from the petition on the flash drive and requested seven more days to review the "newly disclosed" information.
Belles submitted his challenge on Monday, July 6. Molino said the county's home rule charter allows for a "review by the Board (of Elections) upon a request in writing by any County resident within 10 days after a determination by the Office of Clerk of County Council."
