Cordaro Off Ballot

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ROGER DUPUIS II
Scranton Times

Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro is off the ballot for the May 15 primary, but he’s still running ... at least for now.

“We always knew it was a possibility, because of a mistake I made on the form, but it’s something we think we can handle and still prevail,” Mr. Cordaro said of Monday’s state Supreme Court decision striking him from the ballot for not revealing financial ties to Landmark Community Bank on his election paperwork.

Mr. Cordaro said he believed he was not obligated to disclose the relationship because he didn’t expect to profit from the position, from which he has since resigned.

The ruling represented a rare court victory for Scranton political activist Joseph Pilchesky, who has filed about 25 lawsuits against local officials in the past three years — and who hasn’t tasted victory before now. Mr. Pilchesky represented himself in the case against Mr. Cordaro.

Mr. Cordaro said he and his legal team are reviewing their options, but most likely will focus on pushing ahead with a write-in campaign.

“We were obviously very surprised by it,” Mr. Cordaro said of the court’s unanimous ruling.

Mr. Pilchesky is researching whether the ruling amounts to an ethics violation that would further prevent the commissioner from mounting a write-in campaign.

“We want the message to go out to the entire political community that they are required to make full disclosure. This is a flagship case.”

Elections officials, meanwhile, are also reviewing their options and obligations.

Marion Medalis, director of elections, said absentee ballots have already gone out. Her department was meeting with its solicitor Monday afternoon, and she said further details about the remedy were not yet available.

Mr. Cordaro is a founding director of the Pittston-based bank. Mr. Pilchesky said omission of that tie amounted to a “fatal defect” in Mr. Cordaro’s election paperwork, and after two lower court defeats, the state’s highest court agreed.

Last month, Commonwealth Court upheld lower court rulings that found the director post was not financially substantial enough to trigger a $1,300 threshold for reporting financial interest. Thus, Mr. Cordaro was not required to list it on his disclosure forms.

The Supreme Court disagreed, finding the lower courts were wrong to cite a case in which ties to nonprofit entities do not need to be reported. Landmark is, the high court noted, a for-profit entity.

“It’s my fault. There’s no finger-pointing,” Mr. Cordaro said of the omission. “I did my own form. I signed it.”

Mr. Cordaro maintains the directorship was listed in previous years, but he didn’t list it in 2006 because he did not expect to receive stock options, and the “few hundred dollars” he received for his post were below the $1,300 state reporting threshold.

It is not the first time Mr. Cordaro’s association with the bank has resulted in political controversy.

In 2005, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport management wanted to move $3 million to $5 million in airport funds to Landmark Community Bank. They backed away after Mr. Cordaro, a member of the airport board, announced his conflict of interest with Landmark. He said he had no prior knowledge of or involvement in the decision, but the board chose to back off anyway.

The political fallout from Monday’s court ruling could prove wide-reaching.

For one thing, it will leave only one Republican, fellow majority Commissioner A.J. Munchak, with his name on the GOP ballot come May 15.

“I assume I’m going to be the top (Republican) vote-getter,” Mr. Munchak quipped. That’s because Mr. Cordaro is out, and Republican challengers Robert G. Castellani and Phil Spinka withdrew from the ballot after Republican activist Jim Williams challenged their nomination petitions. Mr. Williams’ challenge also knocked a third challenger, Lee Jamison, off the ballot.

“It’s wonderful, it’s righteous,” Mr. Castellani said of Monday’s news. He and Mr. Spinka have been working on their write-in campaign for nearly two months, canvassing voters all over the county.

“With only a two-week window, that’s going to be very hard to do,” he predicted of Mr. Cordaro’s chances. “I don’t see how it could be possible.”

Mr. Cordaro said he must start work on the write-in effort immediately, while continuing to focus on the majority’s record of accomplishments in the face of what he termed a political challenge.

Mr. Pilchesky insists his motives are anything but partisan.

“We’re apolitical,” said Mr. Pilchesky, who also has been a strident critic the City of Scranton’s Democratic administration. “We look at ourselves as being for the people, and what’s good for the people.”