The next mayor of Scranton will be a working mom.
Paige Cognetti will be sworn in on Jan. 6, about three months before the 115th annual dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna County.
The mayor of Scranton is always an honored guest at the affair, a who’s who of area politics and deal-makers celebrating the relationships that make power fun and profitable.
Women, however, are famously unwelcome at the event.
Awk-ward.
Tuesday’s election was historic because it was so “herstoric.” In races large and small, women asserted their political will like never before. Along with the election of the first female mayor in Scranton’s 153-year history:
A married, openly gay woman won a seat on Scranton City Council.
A single mother will serve as a majority Lackawanna County commissioner.
Four women reformers will join the Scranton School Board.
A pair of women — one running an emergency write-in campaign — ousted two Dunmore councilmen who stood up for a landfill expansion against the public interest and got cut down at the polls.
Friendly Sons, say hello to the Angry Daughters.
The annual Society of Irish Women dinner was created in 1998 as an alternative to the men-only gathering. Men are welcome at the dinner, which has hosted Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and other major political players.
Some men — particularly politicians — attend both parties, a sign of the power and prestige the women’s gathering has built over 21 years. When she helped create the event, Lackawanna County Recorder of Deeds Evie Rafalko McNulty said she was told it would be “the end of my political career.”
“Look at us now,” she said. Although she backed Councilman Kyle Donahue in the mayoral race, McNulty said she’s behind the mayor-elect and excited by the skills and passion Cognetti brings to the job. When I raised the pending test of the Friendly Sons’ restriction on women, McNulty cackled.
“They have a great tradition,” she said. “We copied it, but we do it better. We have better beer, an open bar, great speakers and we’re home taking off our fake eyelashes by 10 (p.m.).”
And the mayor of Scranton — any mayor of Scranton — is always welcome, McNulty said.
“She (Cognetti) will be on our dais,” she said. “Count on that.”
I reached out to W. David Fitzpatrick, M.D., incoming Friendly Sons president. He said he won’t do much planning for the dinner until after the holidays, but he is cognizant of the conundrum Cognetti’s herstoric election presents. In its nearly 115-year history, the local association has never had to consider whether to invite the mayor of Scranton.
The Philadelphia Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, formed in 1771, began admitting female members in 2016. The New York branch followed suit this year. So will Mayor Cognetti be welcome at Genetti’s?
“I’m sure all of the invitees on the dais will be appropriate,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m confident this will all work out.”
Cognetti wasn’t worried, either. She said Friday she is focused on her transition into office and noted that St. Patrick’s Day is months away. She wouldn’t comment directly on either event, but pointed to other powerful women who wouldn’t be welcome at the Friendly Sons dinner under the ban.
“This is not about me,” she said. “This is about fundamentally changing government and lifting up the city and its people.
“This is about Jessica Rothchild winning a Scranton City Council seat, Debi Domenick being elected a majority commissioner, four women winning seats on the school board...”
Cognetti didn’t say so, but my educated guess is she won’t attend any party where her sisters aren’t welcome.
Like the voters who elected her, she’s got options and the power to exercise them.
CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, congratulates all of Tuesday’s winners, regardless of gender.
Contact the writer:
kellysworld@timesshamrock.com,
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tribuneblogs.com/kelly