Tuesday is election day, when Democratic and Republican voters in Scranton and across Lackawanna County get to decide which mayoral, city and borough council, township supervisor, school board and other candidates will win party nominations to advance and appear on November ballots.
In Scranton-specific races, incumbent Democratic Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti faces a challenge from Democratic former Scranton School Board President Bob Sheridan in her pursuit of another four-year term, while accounting executive Patricia Beynon and business owner Lynn Labrosky square off for the GOP nomination for mayor.
The primary contest for city council, Scranton’s legislative body, features a crowded Democratic field of six candidates — Virgil Argenta, Patrick Flynn, Frankie Malacaria, Sean McAndrew, Todd Pousley and incumbent Councilman Tom Schuster — each battling for one of three Democratic nominations to advance to November, when three seats on the five-member council are up for grabs. Republican Marc Pane is the lone candidate running for a GOP nomination for city council.
And, in the race for Scranton School Board, six candidates, all but one of them cross-filed, hope to advance and ultimately secure or maintain one of four available seats on the nine-member board of the county’s largest school district. The field includes incumbent board Vice President Danielle Chesek, former School Director Carol J. Cleary, recently appointed Director Jenna Strzelecki, retired district Chief Information Officer Joe Brazil, former Scranton City Council candidate John Howe and political newcomer Julien M. Wells.
Chesek, Strzelecki, Wells, Howe and Brazil are all cross-filed, meaning they’ll appear on both Democratic and Republican primary ballots seeking both Democratic and Republican nominations to advance to November’s municipal election. Cleary seeks only a Democratic nomination.
What’s at stake?
Broadly speaking, municipal elections give voters an opportunity to decide who should make key decisions in local government, such as crafting borough, township, city or school budgets and setting property tax rates. Municipal primaries allow voters to narrow the field of candidates.
In Scranton, the municipal primary for mayor is effectively a referendum on Cognetti, the Oregon native who moved to the city in 2016 and, following a stint on the Scranton School Board, comfortably won a 2019 special election to fill the unexpired term of corrupt former Mayor Bill Courtright. She sailed to reelection two years later, winning her first full term by besting challengers in the 2021 primary and municipal elections by large margins.
Certain critics have attempted to paint Cognetti as an outsider and interloper with her eye on higher office, some even perpetuating or alluding to false rumors that she didn’t physically live in Scranton at times during her tenure as mayor — rumors Cognetti recently called “silly.” In the face of those and other political critiques of her administration’s policies and priorities, Cognetti has pointed to the progress Scranton’s made under her leadership, including the city’s exit from Pennsylvania’s Act 47 program for financially distressed municipalities, its achieving an investment-grade bond rating and its investment of tens of millions of dollars in stormwater and other infrastructure.
But beyond who controls the mayor’s office for the next four years — be it Cognetti, Sheridan, Beynon, Labrosky or someone else — this election cycle will also affect the composition of council over that period, which has broad implications on the mayor’s ability to implement a policy agenda.
Proposed city legislation requires three votes on council to pass, assuming all five members are voting, and four members can override a mayor’s veto. Council also has advice and consent power to approve or reject certain mayoral appointments.
The next composition of the Scranton School Board will also face challenges, including how to best provide for the district’s roughly 9,300 students while grappling with potential education funding cuts proposed at the federal level.
Other races
Among other races, voters countywide will cast ballots Tuesday for the county row offices of district attorney, sheriff, recorder of deeds and register of wills, though none of the incumbent Democrats holding those positions face primary challengers from their own party. County Judge Mark Powell, the county’s former Democratic district attorney who seeks a full 10-year judicial term after filling a vacancy on the county bench earlier this year, is also uncontested.
Voters can review sample ballots before heading to the polls by visiting lackawannacounty.org and clicking the “Elections & Voter Registration” link under the government tab at the top of the site.
Polls open, close
The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., though voters waiting in line to vote at 8 p.m. still have a right to cast their ballots. All in-person Lackawanna County voters will mark a paper ballot and scan it at their polling place.
Any issues?
Anyone who experiences issues voting should call the county elections department immediately at 570-963-6737, elections Director Beth Hopkins said.
Where to return mail-in ballots
Voters returning mail-in ballots may deposit them in the secure drop box in the vestibule of the Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, until 8 p.m. Other county drop boxes were removed last week and are no longer available. Voters may also hand deliver the mail-in ballot to the elections department on the second floor of the county government center.
Voters who received a mail-in ballot but opt to vote in person must bring the ballot and its preaddressed outer return envelope to their polling place to be voided. After they surrender their ballot and envelope and sign a declaration they can vote a regular ballot.
Find your polling place
A list of polling place locations is available on the county elections and voter registration website referenced above. Voters can also visit pa.gov/services/vote/find-your-local-polling-place.
Checking results
Unofficial municipal primary election results will be available online at lackawannacounty.org. Results aren’t official until certified by the county Board of Elections.
Weather
The weather shouldn’t be a problem for voters heading to the polls, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines said. He forecasted a dry day with a fair amount of sunshine.