Pandemic's toll shows up on students' college applications

126303618_web1_griffith.jpeg

Luzerne County Council members mixed on tax collector raise request

Luzerne County must fill both top election management positions because Deputy Election Director Dino Ninotti has resigned to accept a private-sector job.
				Shelby Watchilla had resigned as election director, effective Dec. 25, also for a position outside county government. Interviews of applicants for that position are underway this week.
				County Manager C. David Pedri informed council and the county election board of Ninotti&rsquo;s resignation Tuesday, saying it takes effect Jan. 21. The county will publicly advertise the deputy opening at luzernecounty.org, he said.
				&ldquo;I want to thank him for his service to the county and wish him the best in his next endeavor,&rdquo; Pedri wrote of Ninotti.
				County Election Board Chairwoman Jeanette Tait replied she will be sorry to see Ninotti leave but wishes him well.
				Ninotti was hired as deputy for $42,000 in September. He had started working for the county last March as a building/grounds district foreman and, in August, an election administrative assistant. He previously worked for the U.S. Department of Defense and was a corporal in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, where he served with honor both domestically and overseas, Pedri has said.
				Ninotti, 37, of Wilkes-Barre, said Tuesday he will be relocating to Maryland to work as an asset manager tracking government equipment. He said he looks forward to using his experience to &ldquo;keep America safe.&rdquo;
				He served with the National Guard in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 and was in Afghanistan as an employee of the Tobyhanna Army Depot from 2015 through 2018, assigned to track government equipment that prevents roadside bombs.
				Working with the county election board and county administration was &ldquo;an honor,&rdquo; he said. Assisting with the 2020 general election was &ldquo;very stressful&rdquo; and challenging due to mail ballots and other election changes that had been approved through bi-partisan state legislation, he said.
				&ldquo;We pulled through as best as we could,&rdquo; Ninotti said.
				Although it&rsquo;s not the reason he&rsquo;s leaving, Ninotti said Tuesday he was upset about a Dec. 18 email written by county Councilman Walter Griffith following the announcement of Watchilla&rsquo;s departure.
				In that email, Griffith predicted a &ldquo;miracle will happen&rdquo; in the administration&rsquo;s merit hiring process resulting in Ninotti&rsquo;s appointment to the director position. &ldquo;Please let me know if anyone wants to be in on the bet. Odds are 5 to 1,&rdquo; Griffith wrote.
				Ninotti forwarded a copy of this email to council members Tuesday afternoon in case they had not read it before and said it appeared Griffith was &ldquo;taking bets on my career path in Luzerne County.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I just want council to be aware of this unprofessional and very inappropriate email sent from an elected official,&rdquo; Ninotti wrote.
				The subject did not come up during Tuesday&rsquo;s council meeting. Griffith said after the meeting he did not intend to personally offend Ninotti and was trying to communicate his frustration over the county manager&rsquo;s power to fill positions with no way to independently assess whether he is choosing the most qualified. Drafters of the county&rsquo;s home rule charter concluded placing hiring decisions in the hands of an appointed manager instead of elected officials would remove political intervention.
				With input from an interview committee, Pedri has said he will attempt to reach a planned decision on the new election director by Jan. 20, which coincides with an election board meeting.
				County council&rsquo;s administrative code says the manager appoints the election director &ldquo;following consultation&rdquo; with the election board, which is why Pedri must seek the board&rsquo;s non-binding feedback.
				County Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik is overseeing election bureau operations until a new election executive director is hired.