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The race is on for Republican Luzerne County Council contenders because there are nine candidates and only five nominations up for grabs in the May 18 primary election.

In comparison, only five Democrats are running, which means those candidates are essentially assured their party’s nominations to advance to the November general.

Instead of remaining silent until the primary is over, the county Republican Party’s executive board announced Saturday it is endorsing six of the party’s county council candidates: Carl Bienias III, Kevin Lescavage, John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Brian Thornton, and Gregory Wolovich Jr.

The three candidates not receiving endorsements: Martin Dartoe, Ronald Knapp and Michael Vacendak.

County Republican Chairman Justin Behrens said the executive board decided to endorse because the party is “so fortunate to have a number of great Republicans.” While five nominations are open, the board opted to back six because it “felt that they were all highly qualified candidates who bring great ideas to the table,” he said in a release.

“We would be proud to have any of them on Luzerne County Council and felt that the Republicans in Luzerne County could make their own decision in who, out of the six we have endorsed, would best represent them on council,” Behrens said, calling on all party voters to choose from those endorsed.

Knapp issued a response to the endorsement Sunday, saying he remains a viable candidate committed to his supporters.

“Decisions made from the so-called authorities in Northeastern PA does not mean all the signatures of loyal people to get me on the ballot should be ignored,” Knapp wrote. “The voters will decide — just as it should be in all elections. I feel a sense of the cancel culture in decisions that were made.”

Dartoe also objected Sunday, saying the initial plan was no party endorsing before the primary.

“It is an insult to the people who signed my petition that the ones behind the curtain are selecting candidates,” Dartoe said.

<strong>Candidate synopsis</strong>

County council Vice Chairman Perry is the only Republican incumbent on the primary ballot.

Also, two candidates — Lescavage and Thornton — are running as a team, saying they had previously worked productively and effectively together on West Pittston Council. However, they emphasized they would vote independently if they are both elected to council.

Some basics about the candidates, listed in alphabetical order:

• Bienias, 33, of Hanover Township, has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in political science from King’s College and obtained a law degree from the Widener University School of Law.

He is licensed to practice before the state Supreme Court and works for a law firm assigned to matters throughout the state.

• Dartoe, 31, of Wilkes-Barre, is a Liberia native and currently employed as a tire technician.

Previously a Wilkes-Barre public works employee, he was awarded a city proclamation in 2019 for chasing and holding down a suspect who fled from a state trooper.

However, Dartoe has faced his own alcohol-related charges in the past and is currently awaiting adjudication of charges for DUI and driving with a suspended license, records show. He said last week everyone makes mistakes and that he has learned from his.

• Knapp, 55, of Nanticoke, served in the Army Reserves as an administrative specialist for more than three years and was honorably discharged in 2008.

He graduated from the Allied Medical and Technical Institute and owns a rental property

• Lescavage, 56, of West Pittston, studied business administration for two years at Penn State and has worked as a sales representative for the Reading Coal Company for 36 years, where he covers a six-state territory.

He also said he has government experience serving seven years on West Pittston Council and four on the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority board.

• Lombardo, 27, of Pittston, received a bachelor’s degree in political science and media relations from Penn State University in 2015.

He currently works as a full-time firefighter/EMT at the City Fire Bureau.

• Perry, 71, of Fairview Township, has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and retired after a 36-year tenure in the Hazleton Area School District as a teacher, coach and athletic director.

He also retired from the National Guard after 25 years of service and has been on county council since January 2018.

• Thornton, 61, of West Pittston, graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in mechanical engineering.

He initially worked as a project engineer in New York City and has worked as a financial advisor in the county for 28 years. Thornton also served on West Pittston council for a decade — six as president.

• Vacendak, 74, of Laflin, has been a licensed Realtor and certified residential appraiser for more than three decades.

Past published reports also said he is a Vietnam veteran.

• Wolovich, 28, of Hanover Township, has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from King’s College.

He is an assistant manager at Wegmans Food Market in Wilkes-Barre Township.

<strong>What’s next</strong>

The 10 primary election nominees — five from each party — will advance to the November general election, when all county voters are free to select five from any party.

The five Democrats seeking nominations: Jimmy Sabatino, Sheila Saidman, Maryann Velez, Matthew Vough and Jane Walsh Waitkus.

Saidman and Vough are incumbents, both seated as council members in January 2018.

Sabatino, 40, of Butler Township, graduated from Drexel University and owns and operates three Vesuvio’s eateries in the county with his siblings.

Saidman, 71, of Kingston, has a master’s degree in psychology from Temple University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Her legal career included work as associate counsel with Jewelcor Inc. and the Gruen Watch Company, chief regional counsel at PNC Bank, an assistant public defender in Allegheny County and a prosecutor in the county District Attorney’s Office.

Velez, 47, of Duryea, has a bachelor’s degree in health science from Ocean County College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Walden University. She is the co-founder, president and CEO of United NEPA Alliance, a volunteer-based organization that works for the citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Vough, 28, of Pittston, has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Scranton. He has worked at Keystone Automotive Operations Inc. in Exeter for six years and was promoted from marketing manager to sales analyst.

Walsh Waitkus, 72, of Dorrance Township, has master’s degrees in education and English literature and retired after working as a professor and director of the Teaching and Learning Resource Center at Penn State Hazleton. She served on county council from 2016 through 2019.

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Republican contest for Luzerne County Council nominations heating up