Drug crimes top issues facing Susq. Co. DA candidates

BY STACI WILSON

The three candidates vying to be Susquehanna County’s next district attorney all point to increasing drug activity as the biggest, and perhaps most complex, issue the office will be dealing with in the next four years.

Patrick Daly, Robert Klein and Marion O’Malley are seeking the Republican nod in the May 19 primary. There are no candidates for the district attorney post listed on the Democratic ballot.

The retirement of President Judge Kenneth Seamans at the close of 2014 – and after 27 years in the position – prompted incumbent district attorney, Jason Legg, R-Silver Lake, to seek the judgeship. He is running unopposed on both the Republican and Democratic primary ballots, and will likely be presiding over what are widely perceived to be mounting, drug–related cases in the county.

Daly, of Franklin Twp., said the drug problem isn’t isolated to Susquehanna County and the issues are increasing. “The one-pot meth operations by the users, and not a dealer network, present a danger to the entire community,” Daly said.

Klein, of New Milford, echoed the dangers the drug problems bring to the community and said he’s concerned with the headlines coming out of Susquehanna County.

“The question is ‘What are we going to do and how are we going to approach it?” Klein said. “We have to be looking at many different ways of attacking these problems. One size does not fit all; we have to be flexible and adaptive.”

With over 1,100 crimes committed in Susquehanna County last year, accord to state police statistics, 45 percent of them were unsolved property crimes. “Those are, I believe, directly related to drug use,” Klein, of New Milford Twp., said. “We need to go after drug dealers and take a hard stance.”

O’Malley, the current Susquehanna County Assistant District Attorney, said efforts need to be focused on the drug and alcohol addiction issues that lead to the perpetration of crimes. She also noted a rash of deaths caused by heroin overdoses in Susquehanna County in 2014. “(Drug problems) are affecting too many people in Susquehanna County,” she said.

The candidates all also agreed that they would continue operating the county’s DUI and Drug task force, started by Legg nearly a decade ago.
O’Malley, of Montrose, pointed to the Task Force as a leading way to help address the major drug and alcohol concerns. “While (the Task Force) has caused some discomfort in the community, they are necessary,” she said.

O’Malley said the task force DUI and drug units augment both state and local police coverage in Susquehanna County. “Maybe because we are rural, we don’t have as big a state police barracks as we should have,” she said.

“The task force is important because is leads into the major concerns of drugs and alcohol,” O’Malley said. “Susquehanna County is making these efforts to combat those crimes.”

Klein, an assistant district attorney in Lackawanna County, said, “We want to make sure our county doesn’t fly into the abyss like some other communities. This is the tip of the iceberg. It’s going to get worse unless we take a really great stance.”

Daly would like to see more task force emphasis placed on combating the drug issues in the area, with additional training and time provided for the task force detectives.

Working as a defense attorney and as conflict counsel in Susquehanna County, Daly also believes that in addition to punishment for crimes committed, more focus is needed on treatment for addicts.

He, along with O’Malley and Klein, would like to see a treatment court started in Susquehanna County – similar to ones already in place in neighboring Wyoming and Lackawanna counties.

“That’s a team effort,” Daly said, noting the need for support from the judge, as well as county probation, other agencies and the community.

“Any tool we can look at to rehabilitate offenders and strengthen the community is worth a hard look,” O’Malley said. “I would look into it to see if it’s an option for us in Susquehanna County.”

Klein said, “You can’t incarcerate someone out of addiction. He said he has witnessed the success of the treatment court in Lackawanna County. “It’s truly remarkable to hear what family members say at the treatment court graduations – that they’ve been reunited with their loved ones. It’s hard work and some people will not get it.”

Daly also said he would like to work with other organizations to bring more intervention and better treatment options to the county.

“Maybe it’s the fireman in me, the best way to fight a fire is to stop it from ever happening,” he said. Daly would people struggling with addiction issues to be able to get in a treatment program before it becomes overwhelming for them and they resort to crime in order to support a habit. “It’s an ambitious goal, and it would take more than just me, but I’m hopeful to work with others to bring down the crime level and help people in the community.”

Klein would also like to see more community involvement, from those who witness suspicious activity in their neighborhoods to the involvement of local governments and the court system.

“It really is everybody coming to the table to get to how we can solve this,” Klein said.

While the DA race is garnering attention, Susquehanna County voters also have other choices to make on Primary day.

County Commissioners
The top two vote getters in both parties on May 19 will move on to the November general election.

On the Democratic ballot, incumbent Commissioner MaryAnn Warren is seeking her fourth term. Also on the ballot is Chuck Bullock, and retired banker; and Julanne Skinner.

After serving two terms as commissioner, Michael Giangrieco is not seeking re-election on the Republican ticket.

Incumbent Commissioner Alan Hall is looking to secure a second term. Also on the ballot are Elizabeth Betsy Arnold, Edna Paskoff, Frank Pinkowski and Michael Redding.

Treasurer
Susquehanna County’s longtime county treasurer, Catherine Benedict, has announced her plans to retire at the end of this term.

Two are vying for the seat on the Republican ballot, Bob DeLuca and Jason Miller, both of Harford Twp. There are no treasurer candidates in the Democratic primary.

Register/Recorder
Another longtime office holder, Mary Evans, Susquehanna County Register/Recorder, also plans to retire at the end of this term.

Thomas Charles is running unopposed on the Democratic ballot for the seat.

On the Republican ballot, four candidates are seeking to win the primary election: Michelle Estabrook, Teri Gulick, Brian O’Connor and Wendy Zapolski.

Other county offices
Susquehanna County Coroner Anthony Conarton is unopposed on the Republican ballot.

County auditors George Starzec (R) and Susan Jennings (D) are seeking re-election. Richard A. Suraci is also seeking election to one of the three available auditor seats.

School board
Three of the five Blue Ridge school director incumbents are facing challenges for their places on the board.

In Region 1, incumbent Harold Empett is facing a challenge from John Leigh McArthur. Both candidates filed petitions to appear on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.

In Region 2B, Edward Andrew Arnold will appear as a candidate on the Republican primary ballot. Incumbent Laurie Brown-Bonner filed her candidacy petitions to appear on the both party’s primary election ballot.

Region 3A school director Michael Detwiler is seeking reelection on the Democratic ticket. He will be challenged on the primary ballot by Brooke M. Slocum. Slocum filed to appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.

In the Montrose Region 1 school director race, Amy Jo Lyden is running on the Republican and Democratic ballots, challenging incumbent Pamela D. Staats, who is running on the Demcratic ticket.

Four candidates are squaring off on both primary ballots for two Montrose Region 2 seats: Gregory Sheer Jr., Madeline Arnold, Karen Leigh Dubofsky and Doug Wilcox.

Of those, Wilcox is an elected incumbent; Sheer was appointed to the board in 2014, filling the position vacated by Chris Caterson.

In Region 3, Kathleen P. Mordovancey and Mary Homan are seeking re-election. Paul Adams is also seeking election to his first term as a Region 3 representative. All three candidates will appear on both ballots.

Two candidates are challenging incumbent board member and president Thomas Stoddard in the Mountain View Region 2A race in the Republican primary, Kenneth E. Decker and Duane Albert Marbaker Jr.

Stoddard and Decker will also square off on the Democratic ticket.

In Elk Lake Region 6, Abigail R. Jones and Rachelle Shaulis will face off in the Republican primary. No candidate names appear on the Democratic ballot in Region 6.

In Region 7, incumbent Alice Carr is being challenged by John Charles Pierson on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.

Forest City Region 7 incumbent Joanne M. Sterchak is facing a challenge from Michael M. Ondrako on the Democratic ballot.

Sterchak is running unopposed on the Republican ballot.