Posts tagged ‘frank castellano’

In our Scranton Election Roundup, we noted with surprise that Janet Evans was not the top vote-getter. This, we thought, was a big deal. Maybe, we thought, a few enlightened individuals had finally recognized that her back injuries made it too hard for her to do her job. Or maybe they were sick of her naysaying and grandstanding.

But sadly, the news rolled in that the voting machines screwed up, and she may end up on top after all.

When called for comment (brace yourselves, this is coming out of left field), Evans was too sick to comment.

Has Evans ever been healthy enough to do anything, either her job, debates, or make comments on her victories? Maybe she took the Stulgis road, you know, the whole “I slammed my pinky in a drawer and need workman’s comp” road.

Seriously though, folks, Evans should take time to convalesce. Her dedication to politics obviously supercedes even her commitments to educating our young. While that is impressive, NEPArtisan renews its call for Evans to resign from Council until she stops getting sick or injured.

Another chuckle-worthy tidbit: Castellano’s campaign manager jumped in and wants a sample hand recount! Newsflash: This mistake will likely INCREASE Margie’s total. More people vote straight Democrat in this county than straight Republican.

Yesterday’s election was pretty benign, and with only thirty-some percent turning out, yes, we all felt that way.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some interesting nuggets in there.

Margie Bisignani Moyle’s win was not unexpected (yeah double negative) and coming thirteen points ahead of Castellano, she did pretty well for herself. It’s a testament to Lackawanna County residents that they ignored Margie’s opponnent’s attempts to capitalize on Judge Harhut’s switcheroo of roles (the whole Family Court thing).

For Scranton City Council, Janet Evans was not the top vote-getter! This must be a tough blow. In fact, she was the lowest vote-getter among the three winners. Miller and Morgan (and Gatelli) had no chance. Republicans tend not to win. Pat Rogan, young as he is, will be around a long time and will become a force, I think, as long as he plays his cards right. But very few on Council tend to, so who knows what the future holds.

Doug Miller, in typical fist-shaking fashion, said of the race, basically, “You haven’t seen the last of me!” Imagine it as a deranged grumble. I’m sure it was. If he became a Democrat and ran, he’d probably have a better chance, but given his horrible performance on the trail and in the voting booth, well, I don’t see him breaking on through to the other side any time soon.

DiBileo’s write-in campaign is impressive, given its youth. He only decided yesterday, it seems. I’m sure he’ll run for Mayor again one day, but his constant running and writing-in probably results in people being as turned off by him as they are of Doherty. Yes, I think people are tired of Doherty. His vote totals are not anything like those who ran for Council, which is probably an ill omen for his gubernatorial bid. If he can’t blow-out his own city, how is he going to get a majority in the governor’s race?

DiBileo is also in the running for the new Council seat and he refused to rule out running for mayor again. The man can’t get enough.

Congrats are in order for Bill Courtright, who, along with Bob McGoff, has been the only two level heads on Scranton City Council. Bill’s ethic is impressive, so I’m sure that’ll be the case in the Single Tax Office.

And finally, for our readers, NEPArtisan apologizes for the focus on Scranton, but staff (mostly just me) is minimal at the moment. Once we get some ad dollars we’ll be paying contributors and covering a more broad area! Baby steps, people, baby steps!

If you needed any more evidence that the changing of the upcoming judgeship assignment to family court was a good old boy attempt at keeping good old boys exclusive, look no further than page A1 of the Sunday Times.  “Shouldn’t Our Next Family Court Judge Have Experience in Family Court?” reads Frank Castellano’s ad.  Nice.

Despite the lame attempt at diluting Margie Bisignani Moyle’s experience and relevance, she still outshines Castellano hands down.

The race between Margie Bisignani Moyle and Frank Castellano for a local judgeship would be a footnote in any other year. The only reason it matters is because it’s really all there is. But it doesn’t mean the race isn’t interesting.

I sat on a committee that interviewed the two (they were the only ones who showed) for an endorsement and Margie pointed out that she was running against the Good Old Boy Network. Of course, she was running for many more reasons than that, and still is, but I thought it was an odd accusation to make.

Then Judge Harhut changed the game by saying the judgeship would be handling juvenile cases, basically, which is Frank Castellano’s area of expertise. Then what Margie said made sense. That assignment was not the original one and it gives Castellano a talking point.

The judgeship would still cover more than family court and juvenile issues and assignments change all the time, so the argument that this qualifies Frank more does not apply. On top of that, Margie’s experience far, far outweighs all of the experience of every single candidate from the primary combined. Seriously. She has a breadth of knowledge that none can compare with.

I hope she wins, despite the best (and weak) efforts of others to downplay her talents by emphasizing Frank’s. Margie should win. Look at the primary totals. I sincerely doubt thousands of Democrats who voted for Margie in the primary will be switching to Frank for the general.