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Six Luzerne County Council seats — a majority of the 11-member body — will be filled by voters as the county faces a myriad of major issues, from the potential selection of a new county manager to the push to erase the county’s remaining $13.1 million deficit and get back in the black.

The fate of the entire home rule system also may hinge on the next council regime’s performance because only one more year will remain before voters are free to change the county government structure, which can happen after home rule’s fifth anniversary in January 2017.

Home rule replaced three elected commissioners and several row officers with elected council members and appointed manager.

The council approves the budget and larger contracts, appoints outside county board members, implements codes and other legislative initiatives and confirms the eight division heads.

The county manager also is hired by the council, with seven of 11 votes required for the manager’s termination. Council members have initiated the search process in light of county Manager Robert Lawton’s decision to reactivate his job search for positions in other states.

Council members are paid $8,000 annually.

Voters can select six out of 12 contenders from any political party in Tuesday’s general.

Two outspoken incumbents — James Bobeck and Rick Morelli — are not running.

The remaining four in expiring seats are seeking another term: Edward Brominski, Tim McGinley, Stephen A. Urban and Stephen J. Urban.

The six who win election will serve with Kathy Dobash, Harry Haas, Linda McClosky Houck, Eileen Sorokas and Rick Williams.

Democratic voters nominated Jane Walsh Waitkus, John Gadomski and Anthony J. Rostock in addition to Brominski, McGinley and Stephen A. Urban.

Republicans nominated Marc Dixon, Ray Gustave, Eugene Kelleher, Mark Rabo, Robert Schnee and Stephen J. Urban.

Here is background on the candidates and what they believe they can contribute to council based on information they have presented, including statements nine made at a recent public forum that was not attended by Brominski, Gadomski or Rostock:

Brominski, 75, Swoyersville, has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Wilkes University and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Scranton.

He was a school teacher for 15 years, Swoyersville mayor for five years, county commissioner for four years, county assessor’s office director for eight years and also worked in pharmaceutical sales and insurance sales management.

Brominski said he brings experience in management and government to council, isn’t afraid to speak his mind and publicly presents feedback and ideas from many citizens who count on him to be their voice.

Dixon, 45, Wright Township, graduated from Kearns High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has worked as director of business development for Kodak Alaris in the Americas for 11 years, overseeing 50 accounts with a total revenue of more than $30 million.

He said his strong work ethic, proven track record in the business world and experience making difficult decisions and reaching consensus in his profession will benefit the council. He also has traveled extensively for his job, exposing him to improvements and ideas in other areas that he may suggest here.

Dixon identified improving the quality of life as the reason he’s running and said “out-of-the-box thinking” is needed to boost the tax base and avoid tax increases.

Gadomski, 61, Wyoming, is a graduate of Wyoming Area High School and studied at Penn State University. He has worked as a union carpenter for more than 42 years and is active with the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters, Local 645, of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He also served on the county Industrial Development Authority for several years.

Gadomski said he has extensive experience working with others in his professional career and was “pivotal” in the push to build an arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. He said he is accustomed to making decisions to complete projects on time and under budget and would apply those skills to his work on council. He also believes the council needs to be more inclusive and unified.

He may not be permitted to serve in January if he is elected because the home rule charter says county authority members must wait one year after leaving their seats to take office as elected county officials, officials said. Gadomski resigned from the Industrial Development Authority in April.

Gustave, 69, West Wyoming, graduated from Wilkes University and retired from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2007 after 37 years of federal service that included work overseeing multi-million dollar contracts and submitting research budgets to Congress.

A U.S. Air Force and Vietnam veteran, Gustave also managed day-to-day operations in West Wyoming as borough manager for nearly two years.

Gustave said the county has a “spending problem,” not a revenue one. He said he knows how to cut budgets, citing his work reducing the budget from $160 million to $85 million by the time he retired from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and getting West Wyoming back on track financially as a manager there. He regularly attends and provides input at county meetings but said he needs a “seat at the table” to make changes.

Kelleher, 71, Dallas Township, graduated from Wilkes University and worked as a high school math teacher for 35 years and in the financial services industry for eight years. He also served two years on the initial county council.

Kelleher said he wants to focus on issues and solve problems on the council, noting council members can “agree to disagree without being disagreeable.”

He said he wants to push for more payments-in-lieu-of-taxes from tax-exempt organizations and implement other recommendations in a new outside financial recovery plan in an attempt to avoid tax hikes.

McGinley, 68, Kingston, has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wilkes University, a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Scranton and has completed continuing graduate studies in chemistry and educational leadership at both of those universities in addition to Lehigh University, Penn State University and Temple University.

He was employed for more than 30 years in the public school system, where he was a high school chemistry teacher, athletic director, wrestling coach and school administrator. He most recently served as administration director for the Commission on Economic Opportunity in Wilkes-Barre.

McGinley said council members must “get together and work out our differences” and set and meet goals to advance the county and address the deficit and other budgetary issues. He said he has invested extensive time researching and understanding county government and thoroughly analyzes issues before making decisions, noting he supported a debt restructuring that will save the county $3 million to $4 million annually.

Rabo, 38, Hazleton, is a Hazleton Area High School graduate and studied international business oversees for more than a year. He has worked in construction for more than a decade and has owned his own construction company, Bida Associates, for nine years.

Rabo said he is passionate about the need to tackle blight and encourage development that will stimulate the local economy. He said he understands the challenges of running a business and is running because he cares about the county’s future.

He has attended numerous local, county and state meetings the last three years and said he listens to all viewpoints and extensively researches issues and proposals before forming opinions.

Like Gadomski, Rabo may be unable to serve in January if he is elected because he served on the county Redevelopment Authority until May. However, he said his attorney agrees with his assertion the charter restriction is unconstitutional and unenforceable.

Rostock, 65, of Yatesville, has an associate’s degree in business administration from Keystone College, a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Mansfield University and a reading specialist degree from the University of Scranton.

He worked at the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 for more than three decades and owned A.J. Rostock Landscaping for 25 years. He is a Yatesville councilman and former Pittston Area School Board member.

Rostock said he understands the need for “pinching pennies” through his work operating a small business and believes council would benefit from his experience overseeing budgets and negotiating contracts. He said the “gridlock” on county council must stop.

Schnee, 56, of Sugarloaf Township, is a Hazleton High School graduate and has worked at the Hazleton City Authority for 26 years.

Schnee said he would provide experience dealing with contracts and budgets over $90 million as a Hazleton Area School Board member from 1993-99. He also is president of the local steel workers’ union.

He stressed he understands financial struggles because he came from a family of “humble means” and said he worked as a school board member to make decisions that were fair to taxpayers and the “working person.” Schnee said he wouldn’t “take anybody’s job off them” but would examine the feasibility of cutting positions vacated through retirements and will consider all ideas, whether they are from a council majority or minority.

Stephen A. Urban, 61, Wilkes-Barre, has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from King’s College and master’s degrees in public administration from Golden Gate University in California and in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

A retired Army lieutenant colonel, Urban served 24 years of active duty, is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and Vietnam War and was an elected county commissioner from 2000 through 2011.

Urban said he wants to continue to “fight for the people” because he deeply cares about them. He said he has a “wealth of experience” in county government and has demonstrated he will push for accountability and increased funding for the county. He believes council members should engage in “heated arguments and debate” instead of focusing on civility.

Stephen J. Urban, 41, Wilkes-Barre, attended Penn State University and Luzerne County Community College and works in the information technology field, including nine years of employment at Commonwealth Telephone and a current position as IT support coordinator with a major food distributor.

Urban said he asks tough questions and expects answers because he wants to stop the county from “going down a fiscal path that needs to be changed.”

He said he will continue to push for Lawton’s termination because he believes many county government problems stem from a “lack of leadership” from the manager. Urban said he has sharpened his “sense of frugality and efficiency” working in corporate environments and has tried to bring that approach to county government.

Walsh Waitkus, 67, of Dorrance Township, has a bachelor’s degree from Misericordia University and master’s degrees in education from the University of the District of Columbia and in English literature from the University of Scranton.

She was formerly the owner/broker/CEO of Walsh Real Estate Corp., Pittston, works as a professor and director of the Teaching and Learning Resource Center at Penn State Hazleton and had served four years as a Laflin Borough Council member in the past.

Walsh Waitkus said she has experience meeting budgets and listening to public input as a former business owner and municipal councilwoman. She said she is a “really good” negotiator and communicator and would work hard to “build bridges” with council colleagues because she believes it is important for council members to “get along and work as a team.”

Brominski
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Brominski1.jpg.optimal.jpgBrominski

Dixon
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_dixoncandidate1.jpg.optimal.jpgDixon

Gadomski
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_gadomski1.jpg.optimal.jpgGadomski

Kelleher
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_EugeneKelleher11.jpg.optimal.jpgKelleher

Gustave
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_gustave1.jpg.optimal.jpgGustave

McGinley
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_mcginley1.jpg.optimal.jpgMcGinley

Rabo
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_raboforum1.jpg.optimal.jpgRabo

Rostock
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_rostock1.jpg.optimal.jpgRostock

Schnee
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_schnee1.jpg.optimal.jpgSchnee

Stephen A. Urban
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_stephenaurban1.jpg.optimal.jpgStephen A. Urban

Stephen J. Urban
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_stephenjurban1.jpg.optimal.jpgStephen J. Urban

Walsh Waitkus
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_walsh1.jpg.optimal.jpgWalsh Waitkus

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Election-2015-logo5.jpg.optimal.jpg
Six of 11 seats must be filled

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

[email protected]

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.