The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is intervening in the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee dispute and will facilitate the local committee’s reorganization with all “duly elected members” able to participate, including 76 targeted for removal.
The state party’s executive committee voted Monday to take that action in the latest of a flurry of developments since the county committee under the leadership of outgoing Chairman Chris Patrick sent 76 elected members letters advising them they’re ineligible to serve because they supported independent candidates in recent special or general elections. Several longtime Democrats ran unsuccessfully against official party nominees as independent candidates last year, when a factional civil war among local Democrats erupted over and amid the process of filling former Democratic Commissioner Matt McGloin’s vacant seat.
While Patrick said last week the 76 members targeted for removal would be barred from the pending reorganization, Monday’s decision at the state level means they’ll participate and play a role in electing the next leadership of the county committee.
The state party confirmed the intervention in a statement that also references a county party issue in Forest County.
“Part of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s role, as outlined in our bylaws, is to ensure that county party reorganization efforts are conducted in accordance with those bylaws, and that is exactly what we are doing in Lackawanna and Forest counties,” the statement reads. “In response to the county party’s failure to complete its reorganization, the state party is stepping in to facilitate the reorganization process, in which all duly elected members will have the ability to participate. Once that process is complete, the leadership of the Lackawanna and Forest Democratic Parties will be empowered to address and resolve any disputes.”
“We look forward to working closely with the members of the Lackawanna and Forest County Democratic Parties toward our primary objective, electing Democrats up and down the ballot,” it concludes.
Efforts to reach Patrick on Tuesday were not immediately successful.
News of the intervention came after Lackawanna County Judge Terrence R. Nealon granted a preliminary injunction Monday blocking the county committee from removing the 76 elected members and from filling any vacancies that would be created by their removal before appeals processes established by the committee’s local bylaws and the bylaws of state party conclude.
Nealon also blocked the county committee from holding a reorganization meeting planned for July 7. The state party has not yet confirmed a date for the reorganization it will facilitate.
The preliminary injunction Nealon granted was sought by 13 of the 76 members facing removal. His order, some of which is handwritten, did not yet list a date and time for a hearing in the matter, which was reassigned to Nealon after Judge Michael J. Barrasse recused himself.
The impact the state party’s intervention might have on that litigation, and whether it might render the underlying issues moot, is not immediately clear.
Lexie Kelly, president of the Abington Democrats and a candidate for county committee chair in the coming reorganization, applauded the intervention in a statement late Monday.
“Today’s actions by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party are a decisive affirmation that fairness, due process, and democracy matter,” she said in the statement, thanking state Democratic Chairman Eugene DePasquale and state Democratic leadership for their “swift” action. “Their decision to reinstate the 76 elected committee members, cancel the appeal hearings, and oversee the upcoming reorganization meeting marks a turning point for Democrats in Lackawanna County. It restores confidence that fairness, due process, and the will of Democratic voters come before politics.”
“This is a major step forward for the good guys,” Kelly said.
Check back for updates.