In Tuesday’s crowded Democratic primary election with six candidates for three Scranton City Council nominations, voters selected Patrick Flynn, Sean McAndrew and incumbent Councilman Tom Schuster to advance to the general election.
Flynn, McAndrew and Schuster topped the other Democrats on the ballot — Todd Pousley, Frankie Malacaria and Virgil Argenta.
With 48 of 48 precincts reporting, according to unofficial results, the votes were as follows:
Flynn: 5,309 (26.04%)
McAndrew: 4,346 (21.32%)
Schuster: 3,700 (18.15%)
Pousley: 3,482 (17.08%)
Malacaria: 1,755 (8.61%)
Argenta: 1,632 (8.01%)
Republican Marc Pane, the lone candidate running for a GOP nomination for city council, received 1,615 votes (74.29%). There also were 559 write-in votes (25.71%) on the Republican side.
Flynn attributed his first-place showing among the Democratic candidates to running an issue-oriented campaign and working hard at it, “knocking on doors every single night.” He highlighted as a campaign issue trying to reduce homelessness in the city by addressing the root causes of the problem. “It’s not an easy fix, but it’s something I am passionate about and trying to figure it out,” Flynn said.
Efforts to reach McAndrew and Schuster were unsuccessful.
Flynn, McAndrew, Schuster and Pane now advance to the Nov. 4 general election. That’s when three seats on the five-member council will be up for grabs.
The three council seats available are those of Schuster and two held by Bill King and council President Gerald Smurl. King and Smurl are not running in the primary for reelection.
The three winners of the general election would join on council the other two members not up for reelection this year: Mark McAndrew and Jessica Rothchild.
The results of the municipal election for council might have implications on a mayor’s ability to implement a policy agenda, as the mayor serves as the city’s executive and council as its legislative body. Scranton has a strong-mayor form of governing, but council plays an important role. City legislation, most often coming from the mayor’s administration, requires at least three votes of the council to pass, assuming all five members are voting; and four members voting together can form a “supermajority” that can override a mayor’s veto.
Virgil Argenta, a candidate in the May 20, 2025 Democratic primary for Scranton City Council. (IMAGE PROVIDED / COURTESY OF VIRGIL ARGENTA)
Patrick Flynn, a candidate in the May 20, 2025 Democratic primary election for a nomination to Scranton City Council. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF PATRICK FLYNN)
Frankie Malacaria, a candidate in the May 20, 2025 Democratic primary election for a nomination to Scranton City Council. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF FRANKIE MALACARIA)
Sean McAndrew, a candidate in the May 20, 2025 Democratic primary election for a nomination to Scranton City Council. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF SEAN McANDREW)
Marc Pane, a candidate in the May 20, 2025 Republican primary election for a nomination to Scranton City Council. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF MARC PANE)
Todd Pousley, a candidate in the May 20, 2025 Democratic primary election for a nomination to Scranton City Council. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF TODD POUSLEY)
Scranton Councilman Tom Schuster,a candidate for re-election in the May 20, 2025 Democratic primary election for a nomination to Scranton City Council. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF TOM SCHUSTER)