Gaughan's secrets to dominating Democratic voting in Tuesday's Lackawanna County commissioners race

Borys Krawczeniuk, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
Updated ·4 min read

May 17—Bill Gaughan crushed it. The former Scranton City Council president dominated Democratic voting for Lackawanna County commissioner in Tuesday's primary, erasing doubts that existed when he started campaigning last summer.

In the process, Gaughan and fellow Democrat Matt McGloin, who finished second to earn the other commissioner nomination, all but ended the political career of two-term incumbent Commissioner Jerry Notarianni. They also ensured the party's commissioner ticket won't have an incumbent for the first time in 40 years.

They will face a Republican ticket of Commissioner Chris Chermak and Mayfield Council President Diana Campbell in the Nov. 7 election. Chermak and Campbell defeated former Scranton City Councilman Brian J. Reap and former Commissioner Laureen A. Cummings. "I didn't think Jerry was going to lose. I really didn't," said longtime local political observer John Davies, who months ago publicly doubted Gaughan could win. "I thought it was going to be awfully tight."

It wasn't.

Of the almost 30,000 Democratic ballots cast, Gaughan wound up ahead of McGloin by more than 3,100 votes and Notarianni by more than 4,300. Gaughan won 92 of 163 voting precincts, including 47 of 48 in Scranton, where Notarianni also lives.

McGloin, who grew up in West Scranton and lives in Waverly, won the other city precinct among his 58 precincts wins. Notarianni won only six precincts, Dickson City Councilman Michael Fedorka, two, and Abington Heights School Director Philip Robson, none. In five precincts, two candidates tied at the top: McGloin and Gaughan tied with each other in three; and each tied once with Notarianni in the other two. Gaughan was also the top vote-getter outside the city with almost 300 votes more than McGloin. As he spoke to people across the county in recent months before the election, former Commissioner Mike Washo said many told him the same things.

"They said, 'We need change' without really defining it. And the other thing is, 'We need young people,' " Washo said.

Gaughan is 36, McGloin, 33, Notarianni, 69.Voters who spoke to Mike Rogan, another longtime observer of local politics, didn't bad-mouth Notarianni.

"It was always like, 'Who do you like?'," Rogan said. "And you know who they're talking about? The two young guys."

Gaughan, a former councilman who didn't seek reelection in 2021, had proved only his popularity in Scranton. He finished as the top vote-getter in his last City Council election in 2017, far ahead of the next closest candidate. Outside Scranton, he was hardly known. Voters likely knew more about his opponents, Notarianni, because of his years in politics, and McGloin, a former Penn State and NFL quarterback and sportscaster. "I mean if I stood at Quinn's Market (in Blakely) and stood outside, there wouldn't be one person that knew who I was," Gaughan said Wednesday.

In June, three months before announcing his candidacy, he set out to raise his recognizability by calling political leaders and others seeking their support. He also walked door-to-door talking to "super voters," the prized voters in any election because of their dedication to casting ballots.

In September, Gaughan announced his candidacy and kept campaigning hard, even after finding out his wife, Kellie, was pregnant with their fifth child. Their daughter was born the morning after last month's commissioners debate. A couple of months ago, Gaughan's campaign began distributing lawn signs, which ended up on the lawns of many homes, especially in the Midvalley, where he wasn't well-known. McGloin won the Midvalley, but Gaughan finished second. McGloin also had a lot of signs, Washo said.

"People say, 'Well, signs don't vote,' he said. "Well, signs tell you a heck of a lot of what's going on."

Gaughan agreed, saying signs can create momentum, but also said the early start to his television commercial campaign, in late March, really raised his name recognition. Centered on his wife and children, the commercials drew a lot of attention.

"Bill got out of the box early with the TV ads, with that beautiful family of his and touting the great job he did for the city of Scranton," Rogan said. "I think he appealed to everyone, especially the women. My wife has a lot of female friends, of course. None of them knew the fellow but they loved his TV commercials."

After winning Tuesday, Gaughan and McGloin, who ran separate campaigns, said they won't have trouble teaming up.

"Bill and I, you know, we've gotten along since the beginning," McGloin said. "We both have young families in the area. We want to see the area grow. We want to see the area become what I think we all know it's capable of becoming. This area has so much potential."

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.