web1_Matthew-Milne-12062018.jpg

Police: Crack dealer from Dallas wanted to double his money

web1_121811538-49bf293d66bd46cfa46cfb29217404da.jpg

Pelosi on border wall: ‘It’s immoral’

<p>Two Luzerne County Council members are seeking an investigation of Election Director Marisa Crispell&#8217;s participation in two advisory board trips funded by the company that later sold $325,000 in electronic poll books to the county.</p><p>&#8220;That it should have been disclosed to council prior to our vote on the purchase of the electronic poll books is not a matter of legal technicality; it is a matter of common sense,&#8221; Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck wrote in an email to her council colleagues Thursday.</p><p>McClosky Houck said she agrees with Councilman Edward Brominski&#8217;s request earlier in the day for an investigation.</p><p>Brominski said the council clerk should prepare an investigation request to the state Attorney General&#8217;s Office and FBI on council&#8217;s behalf.</p><p>&#8220;This does not call for in-house action. The manager already knew about it and did nothing,&#8221; Brominski wrote.</p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri said Wednesday the administration would perform an internal review of the matter. He said he confirmed Crispell had reviewed the advisory board participation with the election board solicitor but declined further comment, citing personnel confidentiality.</p><p>Pedri said Thursday he had not received the council emails seeking an investigation and had no further comment.</p><p>McClosky Houck also requested discussion of the matter at council&#8217;s Dec. 11 work session, saying it is not a closed-door personnel issue at this time because the matter deals with &#8220;issues of administrative approval and disclosure to council rather than merely the behavior of one individual.&#8221;</p><p>Crispell has said she stopped being an advisory board member for Election Systems &amp; Software (ES&amp;S) in fall 2017 before the county sought proposals from companies interested in supplying the poll books in January 2018.</p><p>ES&amp;S asked her to participate in its advisory board with other election representatives across the country because the county uses the company&#8217;s voting machines &#8212; a purchase made before Crispell was election director, she said. The advisory role involved attendance at periodic sessions throughout the country to provide feedback on the company&#8217;s product ideas and how it can improve customer service.</p><p>The company<a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/726744/county-election-director-not-hiding-anything-about-trips" target="_blank"> covered travel, lodging for two nights and meals </a>for sessions in Las Vegas and Omaha, Nebraska. Crispell said she cleared her participation and meeting attendance with assistant county Solicitor Michael Butera &#8212; Butera verified this &#8212;and her immediate boss, county Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik. Parsnik declined comment on the matter Thursday.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Without full awareness&#8217;</strong></p><p>In her email, McClosky Houck highlighted Crispell&#8217;s statements that she resigned when county officials decided to pursue electronic poll books and did not consider public disclosure because both the administration and county election board were aware of her advisory board participation.</p><p>&#8220;We pursued electronic poll books at her recommendation!&#8221; McClosky Houck wrote. &#8220;The administration and the election board were not voting on the purchase! Council was, and we did so without full awareness of the involvement of the elections director &#8212; on whose recommendation the entire endeavor was undertaken &#8212; with the company that was awarded the contract.&#8221;</p><p>McClosky Houck said the disclosure responsibility can be shared by the administrative services division head and manager.</p><p>&#8220;Shame on all of those who were aware of this involvement yet failed to inform council prior to the vote,&#8221; she wrote.</p><p>If the lack of disclosure to council is deemed legally and technically acceptable, there is another loophole in county codes that must be closed, she wrote.</p><p>Council members must insist on full disclosure of all relevant facts about issues that come before them and hold management accountable if that does not happen, she said.</p><p>&#8220;If council allows itself to be a mere bystander in government operations, to be called to cast votes &#8212; sometimes on a moment&#8217;s notice &#8212; with incomplete information from management, the check and balance of our executive and legislative branches will disappear,&#8221; McClosky Houck wrote.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_lindahouck.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">McClosky Houck </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_lindahouck.jpeg</photo0><caption0>McClosky Houck </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County Council members call for investigation of election director’s trips