Official 'shocked'
by another's 'slur'
WILKES-BARRE - Nobody seemed to notice the chairman of Luzerne County's board of elections called disabled voters "gimpy people" at a May 7 board meeting.
But Bob Caruso, a Democratic committeeman from Wilkes-Barre Twp., didn't forget about the comment from board Chairman H. Jeremy Packard.
"I was shocked," Mr. Caruso said at Monday's board meeting. "Most shocking of all was not one of the other four members objected to this characterization. Neither did any of you disassociate yourself from this slur."
Mr. Packard didn't attend Monday's meeting and did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday. The Citizens' Voice reviewed an audio recording of the May 7 meeting Tuesday and verified Mr. Packard used the term "gimpy."
"I want the other four members to object and disassociate themselves from the slur toward handicapped voters, the most vulnerable among us," Mr. Caruso said Tuesday.
Board Vice Chairman Thomas Baldino and board member John Newman said they didn't hear Mr. Packard use the term "gimpy" May 7.
"I think I was sitting directly to Mr. Packard's left at the meeting in question, and I do not remember the comment that you have on tape," Mr. Baldino said in an email.
"It's not my vocabulary," Mr. Newman added.
At the May 7 meeting, board members and Director of Elections Marisa Crispell were discussing a Wilkes-Barre polling place, which was not accessible to voters with disabilities. The elections bureau was unable to use ramps at the St. Benedict Church Hall, 155 Austin Ave., because of angled steps, Ms. Crispell explained.
Mr. Packard later referred to setting up "a little tent with one machine" for disabled voters, then said, "A lot of gimpy people walking around back there, alright."
The board is dealing with other miscues and controversies from the May 21 primary election, including a Hazleton voting place opening 30 minutes late because of missing supplies and candidates appearing on the ballot in the wrong Lehman Twp. district.
The most egregious error has made the results in the Democratic and Republican primaries for Hazleton Area School Board appear illegitimate. Ms. Crispell failed to inform Schuylkill and Carbon counties that Steve Hahn withdrew as a school board candidate, and Mr. Hahn received more than 500 votes that could have gone to the seven candidates who want new terms on the school board.
"I'm outraged that board Chairman Packard feels that his vacation is more important than answering for all of the irregularities that his leadership on the election board has caused," Mr. Caruso said.
County council appointed four members to unpaid positions on the elections board last year, and those four members chose Mr. Packard to be the fifth member and chairman.
The board supervises the elections process and voter registration. But the director of elections reports to the county manager under the county's home-rule government, which began last year.
County council has asked the elections board to investigate the conduct of the May 21 primary election. Council plans to discuss that probe June 25.
According to an email from Tuesday, council Chairman Tim McGinley asked chief solicitor David Pedri to provide a legal opinion on the election process.
Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com