{"id":44495,"date":"2025-11-25T19:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T19:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/44495\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T19:55:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T19:55:08","slug":"welby-takes-oath-finally-ending-mcgloin-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/44495\/","title":{"rendered":"Welby takes oath, finally ending McGloin saga"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCRANTON \u2014 Democrat Thom Welby took the oath of office Tuesday to become a Lackawanna County commissioner, ending an odyssey that began about nine months ago with former Democratic Commissioner Matt McGloin\u2019s surprise resignation.<\/p>\n

Welby, the winner of a Nov. 4 special election to fill McGloin\u2019s unexpired term running into early January 2028, joins Democrat Bill Gaughan and Republican Chris Chermak on a board of commissioners often at odds this year over the vacancy and the process of filling it. He replaces Democratic Commissioner Brenda Sacco, who secured McGloin\u2019s seat via a temporary appointment last month and held it for a turbulent 35 days.<\/p>\n

County President Judge James Gibbons administered the oath Welby took while surrounded by family, friends and fellow politicos inside a packed courtroom at the county courthouse in downtown Scranton. His swearing in closes the book on a monthslong saga marked by legal battles and malice that Tuesday\u2019s ceremony lacked.<\/p>\n

It instead featured testimonials lauding Welby for his work ethic, kindness, pragmatism and penchant for helping others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has always set Thom apart is his combination of fairness and practicality he brings to every decision,\u201d state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore, said of his former longtime chief of staff. \u201cHe listens without rushing and respects different viewpoints, knowing how to bring people together so that discussions stay productive. Thom always has made choices based on what he believes is right for Lackawanna County. That kind of balance is rare, and it\u2019s a quality that will serve him well as a commissioner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StateState Senator Marty Flynn speaks during Lackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby\u2019s swearing-in ceremony at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

\u201cNow he joins Commissioner Gaughan and Commissioner Chermak on the Board of Commissioners and I know they\u2019ll benefit from the experience he\u2019s carrying with him,\u201d Flynn continued. \u201cHe\u2019s bringing a grounded understanding of the community that comes from years of direct work for the constituents. He\u2019s seen how county decisions affect people in real ways, and he knows how to translate those experiences into policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welby, a former Democratic state representative, won the commissioner seat by defeating Republican Chet Merli of Blakely and independent candidate Michael Cappellini of Jessup in the special election. It marked Welby\u2019s second special election victory, the new commissioner having previously won a 2021 special election to fill Flynn\u2019s unexpired term as state representative for the 113th state House District after Flynn became a state senator.<\/p>\n

He thanked Sacco, Gaughan, Chermak and others in remarks after taking the oath, reflecting on how his upbringing as one of 13 children instilled in him an appreciation for \u201cpeople who help other people.\u201d That appreciation informed Welby\u2019s passion for community service, he said, noting elected and appointed officials \u201cwork for the good of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s what I want to do for the next two-plus years,\u201d Welby said. \u201cI just want to do good and do right, and I know along the way I\u2019m going to stumble. I know that we\u2019ll have disagreements. We\u2019re all human and we\u2019ll have disagreements, but hopefully we\u2019ll eventually get along and do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welby also said he looks forward to working with Gaughan and Chermak, \u201cand for the three of us to work as a team that I know that we will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the acrimony that defined the battle over McGloin\u2019s vacancy and continued during Sacco\u2019s roughly monthlong tenure, Gaughan is optimistic the road ahead will be less tempestuous.<\/p>\n

\"LackawannaLackawanna County Commissioner-elect Thom Welby greets Commissioner Bill Gaughan before his swearing-in ceremony at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really confident that Thom Welby and I are going to be able to work closely together,\u201d Gaughan said Monday. \u201cI\u2019ve known Thom for well over 10 years now \u2026 and he\u2019s always been a stand-up guy and a straight shooter, so I\u2019m actually excited to get to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chermak, whose holiday travel plans prevented him from attending Welby\u2019s swearing in, called his new colleague a \u201cgentleman\u201d in an interview Monday.<\/p>\n

What dynamic might emerge among the three, and what personnel and other moves the new board might make, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a day for him and his family,\u201d Gaughan said of Welby during the Monday interview. \u201cI know his family is proud of him. The people of Lackawanna County are happy that he is becoming a commissioner, so we\u2019ll discuss all that once he\u2019s sworn in and probably within a few days of him getting sworn in we\u2019ll have that all settled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also praising Welby on Tuesday was county Treasurer Angela Rempe Jones, who worked with Welby on Flynn\u2019s staff and later served as Welby\u2019s chief of staff during his time in the state House.<\/p>\n

\"LackawannaLackawanna County treasure Angela Rempe Jones speaks during County Commissioner Thom Welby\u2019s swearing-in ceremony at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if we did a show of hands here in the courtroom of who has Thom Welby helped or who knows somebody that Thom Welby helped, it would be like a wave, like the Welby wave,\u201d she said. \u201cThom is authentic, he\u2019s a motivator, a worker, a hard worker, kind, trustworthy. Thom is a giver and generous, so generous with his time and generous to a cause always. He is resilient, and in the world of public policy and governance the one constant for absolute sure is change. No one can argue that here, especially.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crystal clear the voters got it exactly right with Thom Welby as our next county commissioner, and we are embracing the change,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Welby, who has said he won\u2019t seek reelection in 2027, stressed at the close of his remarks that he\u2019s ready to serve and his door is open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also want you to know whether you\u2019re a constituent, an employee or a department head, I\u2019m always available to talk to morning, noon or night,\u201d he said. \u201cPlease, and thank you all for your support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2014 Democrat Thom Welby took the oath of office Tuesday to become a Lackawanna County commissioner, ending…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,883,139,28,50,178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-44495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-lackawanna-county","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-local-politics","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-scranton","15":"tag-scranton-headlines","16":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}