Mysterious group again roils Scranton School Board election race

May 1—A mysterious group injected itself into the Scranton School Board election to try to oust four incumbent directors.

At least one election expert says the group may have violated state law.

An 8 1/2 -by-11-inch postcard that says it's paid for by Concerned Parents Advocacy Group was mailed recently to voters. The postcard urges recipients to "Erase This Scranton School Board" followed by the names of incumbent school Directors Ro Hume, Catherine Fox, Tara Yanni and Sarah Cruz. The four are running for reelection. The postcard misspells the word "learn" as "lern."

A Pennsylvania Department of State online database shows the registration of Concerned Parents Advocacy Group as a fictitious name on April 11 by Larry Moran, of Midatlantic Tax Funding LLC.

Midatlantic's registered address is 116 N. Washington Ave., Suite 2E, Scranton, according to a Department of State corporation database. That was once an office of the Joyce, Carmody & Moran PC, the Pittston-based law firm of which attorney Lawrence J. Moran Jr. is a founding shareholder. The school board hired Moran's firm as labor counsel in 2018, but new board leadership shifted the duties to the firm, Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams in 2020.

Moran declined to comment.

In 2017, Moran established an organization called Common Cause Committee that mailed large postcards supporting three school board candidates. At the time, Moran said he set up the committee as a nonprofit social welfare organization at the request of Joe Van Wie, an advertising agency owner and "longtime client." Van Wie declined to comment. Moran later said he also established True Solutions Project, a political action committee, on Van Wie's behalf. The PAC contributed to at least one school board member's campaign in 2017.

The fictitious name registration statement for Concerned Parents Advocacy Group says its purpose is "marketing and outreach." The statement's address lists "Rose Cadau" at a Harrisburg area address. A Department of State spokeswoman said the department has no political action committee registered under the same name. Beth Hopkins, Lackawanna County's elections director, said her office has no PAC registered under the name either.

Roseann Cadau, a former senior media specialist for state House Democrats, is registered to vote at the same Harrisburg area address. For years, Roseann Cadau wrote news releases on behalf of former state Rep. Marty Flynn, before he became a state senator, and Flynn's successor, Rep. Thom Welby. She stopped working for the state after January 2022, according to PennWatch, a website that tracks state employees and their salaries.

Cadau said Wednesday she's never heard of Concerned Parents Advocacy Group.

"That's not me," she said. "It's not me."

She said she would ask the Department of State to correct the matter.

"I'm not even a parent," Cadau said.

Attempts to reach her Friday and Monday to see if she contacted the Department of State were unsuccessful. Attempts to reach a department spokeswoman were unsuccessful Monday.

Flynn said he's never heard of Concerned Parents Advocacy Group.

"Who's that?" he asked. "I have no idea ... honest, 1,000%."

Cadau, he said, used to work for the House Democratic caucus, not him directly. The caucus assigns writers to specific legislators.

Welby said he has no idea who's behind the group either.

"I'm curious to know," he said.

The state Campaign Finance Reporting Law requires political committees that receive at least $250 in contributions to register with the state and identify a chairman and treasurer. PAC treasurers must periodically file campaign finance reports that detail contributions and spending. Every person, other than a political committee or candidate, who independently spends $100 or more "expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate" must report the contribution to the Department of State.

Political action committees must spend money to influence the outcome of an election. The postcard never mentions the May 16 primary election and does not urge anyone to vote for or against a candidate, but says "Erase This Scranton School Board" and outlines the directors' tax voting records.

Attorney Lawrence Otter, an election law expert, said the group may have violated the state campaign finance reporting law.

"It has to be a political action committee or some kind of committee that's registered with the State Department so you know who's paying for this stuff," Otter said. "They've got to file campaign finance reports. ... They better be registered."

Midatlantic Tax Funding LLC was created on Sept. 12, 2016, according to a Department of State online database. As a limited liability company, Midatlantic is allowed to contribute to campaigns. The company made two contributions to campaigns outside the area totalling $1,500 in 2020, according to the state's campaign finance database.

Fox said Friday she doesn't understand why anyone is targeting her and other directors when they worked "extremely hard" the past few years to straighten out the district's finances.

"It makes you wonder why," she said.

Yanni said she would talk with fellow targeted colleagues about asking Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell or the FBI to investigate the matter because the postcard was sent through the mail. Attempts to reach Powell were unsuccessful.

"I think that's a conversation we should definitely have," Yanni said.

Hume challenged whoever is behind the group to come forward.

"The biggest thing is these are faceless people hiding in the shadows," Hume said. "They're just trying to pull puppet strings of God knows who and God knows what. They're cowards who won't put their names to their claims. If they have something to say stand up and say it in the open. ... The people of Scranton deserve an election campaign that's — oh, I don't know — a contest of ideas and policy, not nameless, faceless grubbiness."

Cruz said she's willing to talk to the other directors about seeking an investigation.

"I understand individuals have varying opinions on the issues and prefer different candidates in this race," she said. "But my belief is if one feels so strongly enough to invest these kinds of resources into this campaign, they should be confident enough to put their name or names to it."

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