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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; City councilwoman Beth Gilbert returned fire to sniping on social media by former police chief Marcella Lendacky, whose exit as chief stemmed from an independent review that Gilbert supported.</p><p>Lendacky was behind a recent Facebook post that contained court dockets of two civil judgments worth more than $5,000 against Gilbert.</p><p>Responding to that post, Gilbert acknowledged her financial struggles align her more with the people she represents than with Lendacky.</p><p>&#8220;This is nothing more than an attack by political enemies who are essentially asserting that only the elite and the wealthy can serve as representatives in our city,&#8221; Gilbert said in an email Friday. &#8220;To them I ask this &#8212; Is politics only for the wealthy? Do people deserve equal representation in their government or not?&#8221;</p><p>Lendacky did not reply to either a voicemail message or an email Friday.</p><p>The civil judgments the ex-chief was trying to draw attention to involved a<a href="https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.ashx?docketNumber=MJ-11101-CV-0000060-2018&amp;dnh=ZFv38z2ZBA4s2FIky%2bHMmA%3d%3d" target="_blank"> civil suit </a>&#8220;with an ex,&#8221; and &#8220;a <a href="https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.ashx?docketNumber=MJ-11101-CV-0000249-2018&amp;dnh=o3%2b84S%2fFDNwhWIqZrNVKyw%3d%3d" target="_blank">credit card</a> that I used for college expenses,&#8221; Gilbert said. &#8220;I have a payment plan in place to satisfy both of those debts.&#8221;</p><p>Earlier in the week, Gilbert noted she makes nowhere near the $107,080 a year salary that Lendacky, 57, made as chief, nor the $73,645 annual pension the former chief receives.</p><p>&#8220;In fact, half of Americans make less than $18 an hour, and people like you should check their privilege,&#8221; Gilbert said in her Facebook response Wednesday to Lendacky.</p><p>&#8220;Good elected officials must hold themselves to higher standards, but I am human. We must recognize that elected officials at any level of government are not perfect people. More importantly, the taxpayers should understand that some of us can actually relate to the same struggles as our constituents,&#8221; Gilbert added.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Personal vendetta&#8217;</strong></p><p>Another media outlet Wednesday reported a $4,865 judgment against Gilbert and for a credit card company, but did not confirm Lendacky was the source.</p><p>On her own Facebook page, Gilbert left no doubt. She attached a screen shot of Lendacky&#8217;s post containing the dockets and the ex-chief&#8217;s comments: &#8220;Well&#8230;Well&#8230;Well&#8230;Accountability??? Responsible??? Mature??? Professional??? Seriously&#8230;Just sayin&#8230; .&#8221;</p><p>The Times Leader saw Lendacky&#8217;s post before it was apparently made private.</p><p>The judgments against Gilbert are public information and available online in a database of state court records.</p><p>&#8220;Obviously, this information was not hidden from public view prior to her social media post and elected officials are not exempt from such scrutiny of their personal lives,&#8221; Gilbert said in her post.</p><p>Lendacky&#8217;s post, meanwhile, took aim at Gilbert&#8217;s criticism of the financial management of the city by the administration of Mayor Tony George. Gilbert, the youngest member of council at 24, cast the lone vote in opposition to the mayor&#8217;s proposed $50.4 million balanced budget for next year.</p><p>&#8220;I have been critical of certain areas of spending with this administration in an attempt to lessen the financial burden on the taxpayers and I will always act in their best interest. I will not be silenced by this and will continue to fight for the constituents who have put their trust in me to represent them,&#8221; Gilbert said in her post.</p><p>Gilbert also was the only council member in December 2016 to back the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association in its plea for a review of the department while Lendacky, a mayoral appointee, was in charge. Last year, council voted to hire the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association in an effort to resolve the rift between the rank-and-file officers and management. In its assessment released in March of this year, the association attributed the departmental discord to leadership and its lack of professional qualifications. Lendacky announced her retirement soon after.</p><p>&#8220;It is true that I advocated for and participated in the PA Police Chiefs report. When the results of the report came out unfavorable of Marcella Lendacky&#8217;s leadership, I did not hide my opinion. Clearly, my personal life is of interest to Ms. Lendacky out of a personal vendetta, which quite frankly is disturbing,&#8221; Gilbert posted.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The is Wilkes-Barre councilwoman Beth Gilbert&#8217;s Facebook post in response to an earlier post by ex-police chief Marcella Lendacky. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Gilbert_Response.jpg</photo0><caption0>The is Wilkes-Barre councilwoman Beth Gilbert&#8217;s Facebook post in response to an earlier post by ex-police chief Marcella Lendacky. </caption0><photoCredit0>Courtesy of Facebook </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Lendacky.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Former Wilkes-Barre police chief Marcella Lendacky posted on her Facebook page Tuesday two civil judgments filed against city councilwoman Beth Gilbert. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Lendacky.jpg</photo1><caption1>Former Wilkes-Barre police chief Marcella Lendacky posted on her Facebook page Tuesday two civil judgments filed against city councilwoman Beth Gilbert. </caption1><photoCredit1>Courtesy of Facebook </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL040518BethGilbert.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre city councilwoman Beth Gilbert, who called for an independent review that led to the exit of former chief Marcella Lendacky, called a social media attack by Lendacky a &#8216;personal vendetta.&#8217; Gilbert is shown in this file photo with the report that was critical of the ex-chief. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL040518BethGilbert.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes-Barre city councilwoman Beth Gilbert, who called for an independent review that led to the exit of former chief Marcella Lendacky, called a social media attack by Lendacky a &#8216;personal vendetta.&#8217; Gilbert is shown in this file photo with the report that was critical of the ex-chief. </caption2><photoCredit2>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Councilwoman fires back at social media attack by former Wilkes-Barre police chief