Supporters of a referendum to study Lackawanna County's form of government are striking back.
Adding to what has quickly escalated into an edgy game of political hardball, insurance executive Chuck Volpe on Friday accused the city law firm that is challenging the proposed government study commission ballot question of intimidation and coercion.
Mr. Volpe, who is spearheading the ballot initiative, said he will ask county court for a preliminary injunction to bar the Wright & Reihner law firm from contacting individuals who circulated petitions to get the government study referendum on the ballot.
Wright & Reihner "crossed the line" by sending letters advising the circulators of its intent to subpoena them to testify under oath about the validity of the signatures on the petitions, Mr. Volpe said. The notaries who signed off on the petitions received similar letters.
"It's intimidation; it's unethical; it's wrong, and we are taking it to court to stop it," he said.
Mr. Volpe's attorney, Frank Ruggiero, said an application for a preliminary injunction will be presented in court Monday morning. Notice of the application was served on Wright & Reihner and other parties Friday afternoon, Mr. Ruggiero said.
Frank Tunis, an attorney with Wright & Reihner, dismissed the accusations.
"We are not intimidating anybody," he said. "We are using the legal avenues available to us."
Acting on behalf of a Dickson City voter, Wright & Reihner on Tuesday asked the three-judge panel that is also serving as the Board of Elections to block the government study commission question from the May 21 primary election ballot.
The law firm contends an overwhelming majority of the 6,100 signatures collected to get the referendum on ballot are invalid because of improperly circulated petitions. At least 3,490 valid signatures are necessary to place the question before voters.
A hearing on that challenge and others involving a rival referendum proposal backed by the county commissioners is set for March 11.
Mr. Volpe said the letters sent by Wright & Reihner "dangle a carrot" by promising circulators and notaries that they will not be subpoenaed if they withdraw their petitions.
"That sounds like coercion to me," he said.
In the application for an injunction, Mr. Ruggiero said the law firm's conduct not only threatens the integrity of circulators who are potential witnesses at the March 11 hearing but also disenfranchises the voters who signed the petitions.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com