Lackawanna County Clerk of Judicial Records Mauri Kelly will resign from office and retire from county government Sept. 2, creating a vacancy in the county row office she’s held for nearly a decade.
Kelly, elected clerk of judicial records in 2015, notified Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak of her pending resignation in a letter Friday that she submitted “with both a sense of pleasure and sincere gratitude.”
“It has been my honor to serve the citizens of Lackawanna County over the past 10 years as The Clerk of Judicial Records, as well as being employed by Lackawanna County for the past 30 years in roles as a Clerk in Tax Claim Bureau and Records Supervisor at the Lackawanna County Prison,” Kelly wrote. “I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the staff of the Clerk of Judicial Records for being responsible, dedicated and always willing to assist the public, which has made my job so much easier.”
Kelly’s departure will leave more than two years remaining on her unexpired term that will need to be filled. She was last reelected in 2023, earning 98.66% of the vote in an uncontested race, and began her third four-year term in January 2024.
The county’s Home Rule Charter gives the executive committee of the political party of the resigning official — Kelly is a Democrat — five days from the date of the vacancy to submit a list of three potential appointees to the judges of the county Court of Common Pleas, who can appoint one of those three to temporarily fill the vacancy. The HRC also says a special election “according to the Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” shall be held at the next primary, municipal or general election to permanently fill the vacancy.
But county solicitor Donald Frederickson said Monday that such a special election wouldn’t be held until the primary election of 2027, because state law doesn’t allow for a municipal election to be held the same year as a federal election and the 2026 cycle includes the Congressional midterms. That means a temporary appointee would likely serve for more than a year before voters choose Kelly’s successor.
Kelly’s resignation letter comes amid the contentious and ongoing process of filling former Democratic Commissioner Matt McGloin’s vacant seat after he left office in late February. Democratic Commissioner Bill Gaughan and the county filed legal action in March effectively seeking to remove the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee from that replacement process.
The committee advanced earlier this year three potential commissioner candidates, former county economic development Director Brenda Sacco, Olyphant Borough Council President James Baldan and Scranton School Director Robert J. Casey.
Thereafter, Frederickson and attorneys with the Scranton law firm Myers, Brier & Kelly filed a petition on behalf of Gaughan and the county asking the county court to amend a March 6 order on the process of replacing McGloin. They specifically seek an amendment bringing the March 6 order into compliance with Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1908, which would remove the county Democratic Committee from the process of filling McGloin’s seat for the almost three years remaining on his unexpired term.
The March 6 order signed by former county President Judge Trish Corbett maintained the HRC process that tasks the Democratic Committee with providing the names of three potential appointees for the judges’ consideration. By maintaining the HRC process, Gaughan and the county contend the March 6 order violated Rule 1908, adopted by the state Supreme Court in 2019, which says the county court, not a political party, “shall receive applications from any interested candidates for the position” pursuant to a deadline established by the court.
Chermak, meanwhile, wants the county removed as a party to the litigation, objecting to the use of county personnel or taxpayer funds in the legal battle.
A panel of senior county judges heard oral arguments in that civil case last month but have yet to rule.
There’ll be no special election to fill McGloin’s commissioner vacancy because of the HRC language that says special elections shall be held “according to the Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” State law does not call for a special election to fill a vacant seat on the board of commissioners.
But the outcome of the litigation would set a precedent that could impact the process of replacing Kelly.
The position of clerk of judicial records pays an annual salary of $77,414.
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