Lackawanna County will have a commission to study its three-commissioner form of government and its seven members will likely include five of the people on the slate of the man advocating radical change, according to unofficial results from the primary election today.
With 135 of 163 precincts reporting, the government study referendum had 18,306 yes votes to 11,554 no votes, a difference of more than 23 percentage points. The margin is too large to overcome in the remaining 28 precincts.
Voters also decided they want to keep electing the sheriff, register of wills, recorder of deeds and clerk of judicial records for now.
The vote to eliminate electing the:
--Sheriff was 9,989 yes, 20,446 no
--Clerk of judicial records, 12,666 yes, 17,295 no
--Recorder of deeds, 12,504 yes, 17,248 no
--Register of wills: 12,663 yes, 17,292 no.
For judge, Abingtons Magisterial District Judge James A. Gibbons led the Democratic side with 9,593 votes, trailed by Scranton Magisterial District Judge Alyce Hailstone Farrell, 6,868 and attorney Patti Grande Rieder at 6,3021. Attorney Tim Kelly had only 2,182 votes, Donna Davis Javitz, 1,644.
On the Republican side, Judge Gibbons led with 3,047 votes to 1,825 for Judge Farell; Mrs. Rieder 1,368; Mr. Kelly, 512; Ms. Javitz, 394.
For sheriff, on the Democratic side, Mark McAndrew leads with 9,295, followed by Rob Mazzoni at 8,273, and Nicholas DeSando, 7,453.
On the Republican side, chief deputy sheriff Dominick Manetti leads with 3,060. Joe Albert has 2,467.
For register of wills, Paul Nardozzi was narrowly leading Fran Kovaleski, 8,366 to 8,328, with Kim Harding Kelly at 4,598, and Michael Durkin at 2,146.
The top seven for the study commission were, so far, study commission advocate Chuck Volpe, Mary Jo Sheridan, former Scranton Mayor David Wenzel, Scranton School Director Marilyn Ruane, former city and county Democratic Party chairman Jerry Notarianni, Robert Weber and Michael Giannetta. Mr. Volpe's slate includes himself, Mrs. Sheridan, Ms. Ruane, Mr. Weber and Mr. Giannetta. The only member of his slate to lose was Clarks Green Councilwoman Marnie O'Dea Palmer.