“I am not a member of any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” – Will Rogers (1879-1935)

Tuesday’s reorganization meeting of the Lackawanna County Democratic Party began with a classic example of the Dems’ perennial penchant for planting hurdles in their own path.

For the most pivotal party meeting in years — one that required emergency supervision  by state party officials — no one thought to secure a microphone and a means of amplification in advance. As a result, state party Chairman Eugene DePasquale’s opening message of unity and urgent shared purpose was virtually inaudible to anyone seated more than three rows from the podium.

I considered asking a senior sitting near me if I could borrow one of his hearing aids. He looked ornery, so I kept quiet.

Jessica McGuigan — one of 76 elected committee members former county party Chairman Chris Patrick tried to preemptively purge — and her husband, Conor, happen to be DJs. The couple hustled to retrieve a microphone and speaker, removing an unnecessary obstacle to full participation by party members who struggle to read lips.

The McGuigans’ refusal to accept an unacceptable impediment is an example of the DIY approach of the insurgent Democrats whose push to take over the county party’s leadership was the exclamation point on Patrick’s decision not to seek a fourth term. Tuesday marked a significant skirmish in the long-simmering civil war sparked largely by Patrick’s three-term reign of error.

The meeting was a cordial but cagey clash between two camps — insurgent reform Democrats led by Lexie Kelly, the elected committeewoman for Newton Twp. and a co-founder of Abington Democrats, and Larissa Cleary Valonis, the elected committeewoman for Archbald’s Ward 1, Precinct 2, and a “Kumbaya” candidate belatedly backed by the flagging Democratic Party Machine.

Kelly (no relation to me) and Valonis were up for the chairperson post, both running with competing slates of executive committee candidates. Either candidate for chairperson would have been an astronomical improvement over Patrick.

Valonis won, with 165 votes to Kelly’s 133. All but one of Valonis’ candidates were also victorious, but the votes were similarly close:

First vice chairperson: Robert MacCallum, 152; Todd Pousley, 144.

Second vice chairperson: Maurice Nehme, 150; Jeff Smith, 147.

Third vice chairperson: Mary Kate Donahue, 179; Susan Hennemuth, 116.

Secretary: Jennifer Partyka, 152; Josh Castellani, 141.

Treasurer: Sarah Helcoski, 167; Margaux O’Neill Bonin, 131.

Partyka was the lone winner on Kelly’s slate, but the tight margins reflect the real impact of organized resistance against institutional intransigence. There were bound to be some hard feelings over the results, but both candidates for chairperson used their speeches to set the conditions for a soft landing after the votes were tallied.

Valonis didn’t mention Patrick by name, but she lamented the party’s division and stagnation under his cynical, self-owning “leadership.” Valonis vowed to lead an inclusive, proactive party.

“Everyone here tonight loves this party, including Lexie, who helped build something real in the Abingtons, and I have genuine respect for that,” Valonis said. “Because this isn’t about one slate winning, it’s about what we build together starting now.

“… Our elected officials asked me to bring both sides together and not to represent one side over another, but to lead a committee that works for everyone in it. And I said yes because I truly believe that’s possible. And here’s what I’ve heard this week loud and clear: We’re not as far apart as it may seem.”

The vote reflects exactly that. Although the insurgents fell short in their bid to win control of the party, Patrick’s ignominious exit and their slate’s strong showing should be counted as incremental victories to build upon. Reforming an organization long mired in old-school cronyism is a marathon, not a sprint.

Valonis vowed to run the party with the reformers. She shared with Sunday Times Staff Writer Jeff Horvath what she said to Kelly after the vote.

“I went over to her at the conclusion of everything and I just said, ‘We need you, Lexie. We need you and we need your team,’” she said. “We are so much stronger together.”

This is undeniably true, and a promising sentiment from a proven party leader insurgents should presume is sincere unless she proves otherwise.

Kelly, who accepted her defeat with grace and pragmatism, said that uniting the party’s factions behind Valonis shouldn’t be difficult.

“I just don’t think we’re as divided as people think,” Kelly said. “It’s a small group of individuals that wanted to maintain a power base and 98% of us want the same thing, and those 98% of us are going to work to get it done. We’re going to work to get Democrats elected up and down the ballot.”

This being Lackawanna County, not everyone was feeling the unity vibe. Minutes after the Valonis team’s victory, some insurgents had already fallen into the tired trap of mistaking a momentary loss for an eternal defeat. A  gentleman I encountered as I exited the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center dropped enough “F-bombs” to flatten the city.

“Nothing’s gonna change!” he growled. “Absolutely (expletive) nothing!”

I understand the guy’s disappointment but reject his defeatism. Much has already changed. Patrick is out and a new infusion of reform-minded Democrats he tried to purge are in. The two candidates to replace him were both women and one of them will lead the party with the goodwill and earnest counsel of the other. The Machine has never been more exposed as a rust-encrusted relic running out of grease and time.

The insurgents gained considerable ground on Tuesday, but this is no time for a victory lap. The Machine is winded, but far from done setting up hurdles against reform. The entrenched insiders whose interests Patrick shamelessly served are more determined than ever to cling to power by any means necessary.

The cures for chronic cronyism are more democracy, more transparency and more citizen participation.

And microphones. You can never bring too many microphones.

CHRIS KELLY, The Times-Tribune columnist, prefers democratic Democrats. Contact the writer: ckelly@scrantontimes.com; @cjkink on X; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook; and @chriskellyink on Bluesky.