Lackawanna County commissioner on tap for Republican nomination for vacant Blake Senate seat

Borys Krawczeniuk, The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·3 min read

Mar. 24—Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak says he has the backing of top state Republicans for the party's nomination to the vacant 22nd state Senate District seat.

Republican conferees from Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center in Scranton to choose a nominee for the Senate seat special election May 18.

The winner will face state Rep. Marty Flynn, D-113, Scranton, to fill a seat vacated when Sen. John Blake, a Democrat, resigned March 8 to work as U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright's new district director.

Democrats chose Flynn as their nominee March 13.

Chermak and Scranton attorney Dominic Mastri confirmed they will appear at the meeting. Former county first assistant district attorney Gene Talerico and wounded Afghanistan war veteran Earl Granville said Tuesday they will not seek the nomination. Insurance agency owner Joe Albert, one of the 61 conferees and a rumored candidate, said he's backing Chermak. County party chairman Lance Stange Jr. said he knew of no other announced candidates.

Chermak said he had dinner Monday with state Sen. David Argall, R-29, Schuylkill County, the chairman of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee; Krystjan Callahan, the chief of staff to state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman; his campaign chairman, Keith Eckel, and Stange.

"I just finally committed last night," Chermak said Tuesday. "They drafted me. They really pushed and pushed. This was not something I was looking to do. With their blessing and support, I'm going to give it a shot."

Chermak said he's looking forward "to doing some good things for this region as a senator."

"Right now, my hands are tied," he said. "Even though we get along, I'm a minority commissioner. (In Harrisburg), I'll be a majority senator."

Democrats Jerry Notarianni and Debi Domenick have the majority on the county board of commissioners.

Republicans control the state 50-seat Senate because 27 senators are Republicans, 20 are Democrats and one is an independent with two vacancies. The last Republican to win the 22nd seat, based in heavily Democratic Lackawanna, was former Scranton city treasurer Arthur Piasecki in the 1966 election.

Chermak said he held off for weeks on committing, partly because he wanted guarantees of financial and other support from state party officials. He said Red Maverick Media, a Harrisburg-based political consulting firm, will handle his campaign.

"I will be well funded to run a very powerful campaign," he said.

Mastri, who had not heard Chermak officially joined the contest, said he will show up at the meeting anyway.

"I'm in it to win it," he said.

The 22nd Senate District includes all of Lackawanna County, Avoca, Dupont and Duryea boroughs and Pittston Twp. in Luzerne County and Barrett, Coolbaugh and Price townships in Monroe County. Lackawanna, the largest part of the district, has 52 conferees; Monroe, five; and Luzerne, four, Stange said.

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