A well-known Lackawanna County lawyer will temporarily fill a seat on the board that will appoint a new airport executive director.
The county commissioners voted 2 to 1 on Wednesday to appoint attorney Chris Munley to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport board, which is evaluating executive director candidates.
Commissioner Bill Gaughan, who vehemently objected, said the appointment is unnecessary and potentially illegal.
“There’s not a vacancy,” Gaughan said.
The five finalists for the airport job include County Commissioner Chris Chermak. Chermak, who last month said he would temporarily vacate the airport board seat because he’s a finalist, abstained from voting on Munley’s appointment on the first vote.
That vote ended in a 1-1 tie because Gaughan voted no and Commissioner Thom Welby voted yes.
Using parliamentary procedures when such situations occur, Welby re-introduced the appointment. This time, Chermak voted yes.
In March, the airport board hired a head-hunting company to search nationwide for a replacement for former executive director Carl Beardsley Jr.
Beardsley took a leave of absence in November for undisclosed reasons that an airport solicitor hinted could be related to his health. After months of awaiting Beardsley’s return, Chermak, the airport board chairman at the time, said the airport had to move on.
Soon after, rumors began circulating that Chermak was interested in the job, though he didn’t confirm the rumors until late last month. At that time, Chermak announced he would step off the airport board to avoid a conflict of interest.
Gaughan: 'What exactly is being filled?'
At the meeting Wednesday, Gaughan questioned whether Chermak can leave the board temporarily.
“Recusal is not the same as a vacancy,” he said. “Commissioner Chermak has not resigned from the airport board. He has not vacated his seat. He has simply recused himself because he is a candidate for the very position that the board will fill. If there is no resignation and no vacancy, what exactly is being filled? On what legal or practical basis are we creating a temporary voting position that doesn't currently exist?”
Gaughan said he has “no personal issues” with Munley
“I have a great deal of respect for him,” he said. “My question is about the process: Who selected attorney Munley? Who recommended him? What criteria were used? Were other qualified individuals considered? Who were they? Were people allowed to apply for this temporary appointment? If this appointment is supposedly about protecting the integrity of the hiring process at the airport, shouldn't the process for selecting the temporary appointee itself be transparent? I think the public deserves to know the answers to those questions.”
Gaughan said Chermak voting on his replacement also constitutes a conflict of interest because the replacement may vote on his candidacy.
He pointed out the airport board functioned just fine for months after Lackawanna County Commissioner Matt McGloin resigned last year.
“I don't recall anyone insisting that an immediate, temporary appointment was necessary. So, what has changed?” he said.
He suggested the possibility of future temporary appointments to boards if a member must step aside because of a conflict of interest.
“Where does that practice end? What precedent are we creating?” he asked.
Welby has argued leaving Chermak’s seat vacant on the six-member airport board would leave Lackawanna with less representation than Luzerne County. Each county appoints three members.
“Nothing about that changes because Commissioner Chermak has voluntarily recused himself from one matter,” he said. “The (two-county airport) governing agreement still requires support from both counties before action can be taken. In other words, Lackawanna County hasn't lost its voice or its voting power as a county.”
Chermak’s “personal circumstance should not require this board to rewrite its own governance structure,” he said.
Under the airport governing agreement, at least two members from each county must support any decision or appointment to assure adoption.
Welby: 'There is a critical need'
Welby pointed that out. A Democrat like Gaughan, Welby said he and his colleague have regularly disagreed on issues. On the appointment of an airport executive director, that could matter.
“If we don't have two directors approving something, then it does not pass. Period. It's gridlocked. It's deadlocked. It's denied,” he said. “And I think there is a critical need to have that third person, particularly someone of the character and the value of attorney Chris Munley.”
Welby said the commissioners' need for a replacement was well-publicized and he spoke with multiple candidates, including a former commissioner. He questioned why McGloin wasn’t temporarily replaced last year, saying the reason for that “just totally escapes me.
“Thankfully, nothing serious occurred that required the participation and equal representation by our county,” he said.
LaBelle accuses Gaughan of 'grandstanding'
Attorney Paul LaBelle, Chermak’s solicitor, accused Gaughan of “impugning the integrity” of the Board of Commissioners. He pointed out the airport solicitor, attorney Don Frederickson, asked the commissioners to fill the vacancy created by Chermak stepping aside.
LaBelle accused Gaughan of “grandstanding” by failing to ask all his questions a month ago when the matter first came up.
“He could have sought an ethics opinion. He could have asked solicitors for opinions from that first work session when this was brought up,” LaBelle said.
Chermak said little about the matter, except to recuse himself from the first vote “out of an abundance of caution.”
Gaughan said he saw no reason to rush until his questions are answered, but Welby said there is urgency because the airport board will likely vote on a new executive director at its July 23 meeting.
