Going, Going, Gaughan!

For the first time since February, Lackawanna County will finally have a full, three-member Board of Commissioners.

Former county Economic Development Director Brenda Sacco will take the oath of office Wednesday morning at the Lackawanna County Courthouse, nearly eight months after former Commissioner Matt McGloin’s resignation set off a legal and political standoff that left residents without full representation.

The long delay stemmed from Commissioner Bill Gaughan’s decision to challenge the county’s Home Rule Charter in court — a challenge he lost at every level. County judges ruled against him. The Commonwealth Court ruled against him. And this week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against him too, upholding the Home Rule Charter process that Gaughan tried to block.

The result of that failed legal fight was seven months of government gridlock. With only two sitting commissioners, key votes tied or stalled, and even routine business dragged out as the county waited for the courts to settle what the law had already made clear.

Sacco’s appointment, approved by seven county judges in early September but frozen by the Supreme Court while the appeal played out, will finally fill the vacancy. The justices ruled unanimously that the county’s Home Rule Charter and the state’s Rule of Judicial Administration 1908 “act in concert,” not in conflict. In short, the court said what many had argued from the beginning: Lackawanna County voters already decided how their government works, and one commissioner doesn’t get to rewrite it.

McGloin resigned in February. Under the charter, the political party of the departing commissioner submits three names to the court, which selects one to serve temporarily. The county Democratic Committee followed that rule, recommending Sacco and two others. Before the judges could act, Gaughan sued to block the process, arguing that judges should be allowed to consider “any interested candidate.” That move halted the appointment and left the county short a commissioner until this week.

Attorney Adam Bonin, who represented the Democratic Committee, said the outcome is “bittersweet.” If Gaughan hadn’t stalled the process, he said, Sacco could have been serving months ago. “Residents went without full representation because of baseless litigation,” Bonin said.

Democratic Party Chair Chris Patrick called the ruling a total vindication of the charter and a rejection of what he described as Gaughan’s “obsession with control.” “Every court in Pennsylvania, including the Supreme Court, has made it clear he was wrong,” Patrick said. “Instead of accepting responsibility, he doubled down, wasting taxpayer money and embarrassing Lackawanna County in the process.”

Gaughan maintains that he filed the case to ensure voters — not party insiders — decide who fills vacancies. But critics note the irony that he later voted to hold a special election for the seat, further complicating a process he’d already delayed through litigation.

Sacco is expected to serve only until the Nov. 4 special election is certified. The candidates are Democrat Thom Welby, Republican Chet Merli, and independent Michael Cappellini, who is backed by Gaughan.

Whether Sacco stays in the post for a few weeks or longer, her swearing-in ends a year-long saga that exposed just how much one official’s personal lawsuit can disrupt local government.

After eight months, three court losses, and one commissioner’s failed attempt to control the process, Lackawanna County finally has what it should have had all along: a full board representing its people.