The four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Lackawanna County register of wills and clerk of orphans' court are running with the knowledge the position might not exist after the May 21 primary.
Register of wills is one of four elected row offices that primary voters will decide whether to eliminate by amending the Home Rule Charter.
If the office survives, the winner of the Democratic primary among Michael F. Durkin, 56, South Abington Twp.; Kim Harding Kelly, 55, Clarks Summit; Fran Kovaleski, 64, Jessup, and Paul J. Nardozzi, 55, Dunmore, will face Republican Christopher Arnone in November. Mr. Arnone is unopposed for the GOP nomination.
As far as Mr. Durkin is concerned, the proposal by the county commissioners to do away with register of wills as an elected post is the top issue in the race.
"In doing that, you are taking government out of the hands of the people," he said. "It should be an elected office. They are taking the power away from the voters, the electorate."
Mr. Durkin, a political newcomer whose private-sector background is in sales, said he believes retiring Register of Wills Linda Munley has done a good job. However, he would like to see the office embrace automation and develop more of an online presence to increase its accessibility to the public.
"Maybe some things are antiquated in terms of computerization and things like that. ... I would further enhance it," he said.
Ms. Kelly, who is also making her first venture into elective politics, said she would use technology to improve the office's efficiency and provide better public service. She said attorneys have told her that services available in register of wills offices in other counties are not available here.
"Our whole government has to be more efficient. We have to start running it like a business - within a budget, with cost-benefit analysis. We need ROIs (returns on investment). You can't look at tax dollars as a bottomless pit," she said.
Ms. Kelly said she strongly believes register of wills and the other three row offices should remain elected positions, although she would not be opposed to reviewing them to ascertain if all four are necessary.
"I don't want to consolidate them first and then build the plan afterward. I think that is what we are doing right now," she said.
Ms. Kovaleski, who has been Ms. Munley's deputy for the past 18 years, said her experience and knowledge of the office's operations make her the most qualified candidate to move the office forward.
Her top priority will be to complete the digitizing of records filed with the register of wills, marriage license bureau and clerk of orphans' court since the county's founding and to ensure those records remain available online for free, she said. "The taxpayers pay our salaries and they pay to have these records online," Ms. Kovaleski said. "There should be no fee to get them."
While she is not opposed to examining the pros and cons of consolidating the row offices or a broader restructuring of county government, she said voters in the primary need to understand what is taking place and what is at stake.
"I believe there is no harm in looking at government as long as the people who are going to be looking at it don't go in with predetermined ideas," she said. "They have to go into this with an open mind."
Mr. Nardozzi, a Dunmore councilman who works as a county deputy sheriff and municipal police officer, promised he would be a full-time register of wills. He will post his time and attendance records on the office's website to demonstrate his accountability to taxpayers, he said.
"I think a lot of people are skeptical of officeholders: Are they at work? Are they not at work? ... I think you have to prove yourself to the public, and that is one of the things I'm going to be doing," he said.
Mr. Nardozzi said he wants to educate the public about the responsibilities of the register of wills and make the office more accessible by keeping it open one evening a week and conducting outreach sessions at different locations in the county two Saturdays every month.
"Because of my experience with law enforcement and the courts, I think I have the background to do the job," Mr. Nardozzi said.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com
Michael F. Durkin
Age: 56
Family: Wife, Kathleen; one son, Michael
Education: Bachelor's degree in marketing, Marywood University
Employment: Salesman, Aldrich Respiratory & Medical Supply Co.
Municipality: South Abington Twp.
Experience: First-time office seeker; former president, Blakely Legion Golf League
Top issue: Preservation of office
Kim Harding Kelly
Age: 55
Family: Husband, Harry; one daughter, Erin
Education: Scranton Preparatory School; bachelor's degree in psychology, College of the Holy Cross
Employment: Formerly director of information systems, Kane Is Able Inc.
Municipality: Clarks Summit
Experience: First-time office-seeker; past president, Sant' Andrea Society
Top issue: Efficiency and use of technology
Fran Kovaleski
Age: 64
Family: Husband, Kenneth J.; three sons, Kevin, Kenneth M. and Michael; nine grandsons
Education: St. Patrick's High School
Employment: Deputy register of wills
Municipality: Jessup
Experience: 18 years in register of wills office; former president and board member, St. Joseph's Auxiliary; founding member and former president, Society of Irish Women; former treasurer, Lackawanna County Federation of Democratic Women; board member, Shamrock Foundation
Top issue: Experience in office
Paul J. Nardozzi
Age: 55
Family: One son, Christopher
Education: Dunmore High School; associate degree in criminal justice, Lackawanna Junior College; graduate of Pennsylvania Municipal Police Training Academy and Pennsylvania State Deputy Sheriff Training Academy; attended University of Scranton
Employment: Lackawanna County deputy sheriff; part-time police officer, Olyphant and Old Forge
Municipality: Dunmore
Experience: Serving sixth term on Dunmore Borough Council; former council president and vice president; member of Keystone UNICO, Sons of Italy, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and Teamsters Local 229
Top issue: Accountability