Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Brenda Sacco and Republican Commissioner Chris Chermak will apparently replace Democratic Commissioner Bill Gaughan as chairman of the three-member board during a reorganization meeting Monday.
It will begin at 10 a.m. in the fifth-floor conference room of the county government center in downtown Scranton, per the agenda.
Sacco and Chermak also approved Friday personnel changes to the county’s legal team, making attorney Paul James Walker of Clarks Summit county solicitor while reassigning former Solicitor Donald Frederickson to the position of general counsel. Attorney Jack Price, who had been general counsel, was transferred to a guardian ad litem position in the Office of Youth and Family Services, per approval-to-hire and approval-to-transfer forms signed by the two commissioners.
The Lackawanna County Democratic Committee voiced objections to a special election to fill the vacant county commissioner seat through attorney Paul James Walker of Clarks Summit during a late August meeting of the Lackawanna County Board of Elections in Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
They’re among what are expected to be a series of changes approved by Chermak and Sacco, who took office Wednesday pursuant to a county Home Rule Charter appointment process that survived a monthslong legal challenge waged by Gaughan and the county. Walker, the new county solicitor, who is not related to Scranton attorney Paul Walker, has represented Sacco in legal battles over the vacancy. Frederickson represented the county and Gaughan in his capacity as a commissioner in the lawsuit challenging the charter appointment process.
“I never saw a resume from Mr. Walker,” Gaughan said Friday. “This is clearly backroom politics at its finest.”
Asked for a response, Walker said: “I’m not clear on how it is that.”
“Anybody can ask Donny Frederickson how he feels about it,” Walker said, praising Frederickson as an “institution” in the county. “I just got off the phone with him and he seems very happy.”
Efforts to reach Frederickson were not immediately successful.
The solicitor position pays an annual salary of $55,015. The annual salaries for the general counsel and guardian ad litem positions are $50,447 and $25,625, respectively.
Chermak had said Friday morning that he and Sacco were discussing personnel changes, but nothing was official. Efforts to reach Sacco directly were unsuccessful, but she did praise Walker in a press release on his hiring.
“Attorney Paul Walker brings a wealth of legal experience, professionalism and a strong commitment to public service that will greatly benefit our county government,” Sacco said. “His proven record of integrity and dedication will help ensure that all county operations continue to reflect transparency, accountability and sound legal guidance.”
Walker, the founder of Walker Law LLC in Clarks Summit, will also serve as solicitor for the county salary and pension boards, per the press release.
Chermak also confirmed Friday morning that he and Sacco were considering a reorganization and that he didn’t plan to serve as chairman, suggesting Sacco will replace Gaughan in that leadership position with Chermak’s support.
The extent to which Sacco and Chermak continue to vote together or otherwise agree on personnel and other changes remains to be seen, but the potential exists that they form a bipartisan majority that effectively makes Gaughan the de facto minority commissioner.
Any personnel or other changes may also be temporary, as Sacco will ostensibly only serve as commissioner until the winner of a Nov. 4 special election to fill the remainder of former Democratic Commissioner Matt McGloin’s unexpired term replaces her after the election results are certified next month. Sacco said this week that she hopes to hold the seat through the remainder of that term running into early January 2028, without presenting a specific legal argument why that should be the case.
The candidates in the commissioner special election are Democrat Thom Welby of Scranton, Republican Chet Merli of Blakely and independent Michael Cappellini of Jessup.
Gaughan sharply criticized Sacco this week over the suggestion that her commissioner tenure should be anything but temporary, arguing such an outcome would disenfranchise county voters.
He said Friday he’s been concerned from the beginning that Sacco and Chermak would “take the county back to the chaos and the political dysfunction” that contributed to a financial crisis and operational issues he inherited upon taking office in 2024.
“This kind of erratic behavior by Commissioner Chermak and Commissioner Sacco, I fear, will jeopardize the stable financial path that I have the county on currently,” he said. “This is clearly a personal vendetta against me because I had the audacity to ask everyone to play by the rules and do the right thing when I came into office last year. This is the sort of backroom politics that people do not want to go back to, and I think that’s where I think we’re headed, unfortunately.”
Efforts to reach Chermak and Sacco subsequent to those remarks were unsuccessful.
Originally Published: October 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM EDT