Democracy in Luzerne County Pennsylvania

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Introduction This article will describe the attempt by those in power to destroy democracy in Luzerne County. Fortunately, true patriots have risen to the occasion and are restoring democracy to Luzerne County A Deceptive Campaign The democratic process is destroying the Democratic Party in Luzerne County, and establishing a new paradigm for defeating dictatorial Democrats which is based on the referendum. The Luzerne County Democrats are using the same strategy and tactics that the Democrats use on the national stage. They run for office as benign candidates who want to improve government, and as soon as they are elected their ideology takes over and they govern as radical progressives. In the last election, the Democrats ran on the philosophy of being open and transparent in government. but they are the exact opposite. Openness and transparency begins with the election not after the election when the party has the votes to do whatever it wants. The Democrats did not talk about a major program to combat discrimination, but after they were elected they passed a major anti-discrimination ordinance and established a Human Rights Commission to enforce the ordinance. They did not campaign on this issue as it was not what the voters wanted and they could not get elected if they put this massive program on their platform. The Democrats own an 8 to 3 majority on the county council and they recently passed an anti-discrimination ordinance that will create a Human Rights Commission to consider any and all discrimination complaints. The Democrats have never campaigned on this issue as it is obvious that it is a very unpopular idea in Luzerne County. When the ordinance was introduced there was a tremendous public outcry against it, but they passed it anyway. The polls show that 67% of the people oppose the anti-discrimination ordinance. Their ideology is more important to these Democrats than democracy and the will of the people. The Anti-Discrimination Ordinance The ordinance makes it easy for the Democrats to divide and conquer by pitting one group of Americans against another. The ordinance is comprehensive, is designed to fill in gaps in state law and explicitly lists sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. The ordinance applies to just about everyone and makes it easier and faster to file discrimination complaints. The ordinance includes the following protected classes: actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, creed, national origin or citizenship status, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions,) gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, generic information, marital status, familial status, GED rather than high school diploma, physical or mental disability, relationship or association with a disabled person, source of income, age, height, weight, veteran status, use of guide or support animals and/or mechanical aids, or domestic or sexual violence victim status. The Democratic Process The democratic response has been overwhelming. Led by former county controller Walter Griffith, the Luzerne County Republicans launched a popular bipartisan drive to get a referendum on the ballot to repeal the ordinance. Under the home rule charter, in the first phase, they needed 100 volunteers to circulate the petition to put the referendum on the ballot. to repeal the ordinance and they immediately got 135 electors to volunteer and they formed a committee. The committee filed a petition with 1,899 signatures even though they only needed 1,162 signatures. Incredibly they got all these signatures in just five days, which demonstrates how much opposition there is to this ordinance. In the next phase of the process, 11,615 signatures are required and they have sixty days to get this done. At their current rate of speed they can easily accomplish this. Then the Luzerne County Council has 30 days to repeal the ordinance, and if they refuse the referendum goes on the ballot in the next election where it will be overwhelmingly approved. Luzerne County Council approved the ordinance by a 7-4 vote on June 9, 2026. The ordinance establishes comprehensive anti-discrimination requirements for employment, housing, education, health care and public accommodations. Repeal organizers collected signatures at the county Republican headquarters in Exeter Pennsylvania. Walter Griffith and Lee Ann McDermott the county Republican chairwoman as well as a county council woman, have called it a bipartisan effort as every voter was invited to sign the petition, and the Republican Party has not officially endorsed the petition effort. As the loyal opposition party in Luzerne County, it is actually the duty of the Republican Party to organize the opposition when the Democrats go over the edge and act like dictators. Seven Democrats on council voted for the non-discrimination ordinance while one Democrat and three Republicans voted against it. Creating The Human Relations Commission Even though the anti-discrimination ordinance is doomed the county council is developing a human relations commission as the anti-discrimination ordinance is set to go into effect around September 8 or 90 days after its June 9 passage. This commission is responsible for receiving and investigating complaints. Initially, the commission is a volunteer seven member citizen board appointed by council. Investigating the complaint is the key to the program. First, the commission must establish that the complaint is within its jurisdiction and there is serious evidence of discrimination. Then the defendant is served a copy of the complaint and must submit a written response within 60 days. Then an investigator shall review the complaint, answer it and gather information. The investigator will be one or more commission members or an independent non-member person. The investigator determines if an unlawful discrimination has occurred and presents the findings to the commission to determine if they want to proceed to the next level which could include mediation and/or a public hearing. This is where the defendant's reputation will be tarnished. Violators can be found guilty of a summary offense and be sentenced to pay a fine ranging from $100 to $500. Of course, the defendants can file a suit in civil court and the county will get in serious trouble. Bankrupting Luzerne County The program will put unlimited legal liability on Luzerne County and will probably lead to financial ruin. The Human Relations Commision will be dependent on the county government and its resources. The ordinance provides that the commission must have sufficient administrative and legal support from the county human resources office in addition to the law division to fulfill its powers and duties including assistance with the basic intake of the complaint plus the investigation of the filed complaint. In addition to being dependent on the county government the ordinance provides for outside legal counsel if Luzerne County itself is designated as a respondent in a complaint or a lawsuit. Moreover, the ordinance is comprehensive and gives just about everyone the opportunity to complain about something and file a complaint against the areas major employers such as Walmart, major educational institutions such as King's College, Wilkes University, major health organizations such as Geisinger, and the major housing authorities in the area. It is inevitable that these organizations will file million dollar defamation cases against Luzerne County, the county will not be available to defend itself, and the county will be financially ruined.