Candidate for Scranton City Council remains in race despite conflict claims
An attorney from Pittston-based law firm Joyce, Carmody & Moran last month sent a letter to NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania asking if its employee Todd Pousley would resign from his job if he won election to Scranton City Council, because the nonprofit receives funding from the city.
The attorney, Brendan Fitzgerald, who also copied the March 5 letter to Scranton City Council and the Lackawanna County Board of Elections, claims Pousley's candidacy in the May 20 Democratic primary election for council 'presents a clear conflict of interest.'
During council's meeting Tuesday, council President Gerald Smurl announced that council received the letter Friday and pointedly noted he believes it was meant to 'intimidate' the nonprofit NeighborWorks NEPA to force Pousley to withdraw from the primary.
In an interview Wednesday, Pousley said he started a leave of absence March 27 from his job with NeighborWorks because of the concerns raised about a potential conflict of interest, but he remains a candidate in the Democratic primary for council. If elected, he acknowledged he would have a conflict of interest on any matter directly involving NeighborWorks, but the remedy to that would be for him to recuse himself from any such matter, discussion or vote, he said.
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A March 5, 2025 letter from attorney Brendan Fitzgerald of the Joyce, Carmody & Moran law firm to NeighborWorks NEPA regarding the candidacy of NeighborWorks' employee Todd Pousley in the May 20 Democratic primary election for a omination to Scranton City Council. The letter, provided by Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl, was copied to council. (Submitted)
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A March 5, 2025 letter from attorney Brendan Fitzgerald of the Joyce, Carmody & Moran law firm to NeighborWorks NEPA regarding the candidacy of NeighborWorks' employee Todd Pousley in the May 20 Democratic primary election for a omination to Scranton City Council. The letter, provided by Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl, was copied to council. (Submitted)
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A March 5, 2025 letter from attorney Brendan Fitzgerald of the Joyce, Carmody & Moran law firm to NeighborWorks NEPA regarding the candidacy of NeighborWorks' employee Todd Pousley in the May 20 Democratic primary election for a omination to Scranton City Council. The letter, provided by Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl, was copied to council. (Submitted)
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'It's pretty clear the intent (of Fitzgerald's letter) is to get me to drop out of the race,' Pousley said. 'I've gotten a good lesson in politics the past few weeks and it's motivated me even more to run for city council, because I don't agree with those kinds of tactics.'
During Tuesday's council meeting, Smurl said he believes that Fitzgerald does not live in Scranton and does not claim in the letter to represent any Scranton voter or client regarding his concerns about Pousley's candidacy. Smurl noted that Joyce, Carmody & Moran law firm partner Joseph Joyce is the vice chairman of the board of NeighborWorks. 'To make it even more interesting, attorney Larry Moran Jr., another partner in the same law firm, to my knowledge is and has been very involved with the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee in various leadership positions,' Smurl said.
Smurl continued, 'So, one could view that this letter is an effort to intimidate the board of directors of NeighborWorks into forcing Mr. Pousley to withdraw from the Democratic primary race for Scranton City Council. I would hope this clearly is not the case.'
Efforts to reach Fitzgerald, Joyce and Moran on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Smurl said he will have council ask NeighborWorks to do an internal investigation on the potential of a conflict of interest of Pousley serving on city council and suggested the nonprofit also should contact the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission for an opinion. Smurl also will have council Solicitor Tom Gilbride do the same and review the city's ethics code, and then render an opinion to council.
Pousley said, 'There's obviously concern from my employer, my CEO and board of directors about the letter that was sent.'
In an interview Wednesday, NeighborWorks' board President Teddy Michel said Pousley is on a leave of absence at least until the primary election. If Pousley were to win a nomination, NeighborWorks then would have to decide whether to extend the leave of absence.
'That'll be a decision how to navigate the next segment,' to the general election in November, Michel said.
Asked whether the board found the letter intimidating, Michel said he did not want to comment on that or speak for the entire board, adding, 'I think the letter is the letter. The board will continue to do what it does best — be prudent and gather and assess facts.'
Fitzgerald's letter said in part: 'Public officials should not be in positions where their personal or financial interests could compromise their decision-making. Ethical governance is essential for maintaining citizens' trust in their government. … If elected, he (Pousley) would be in a position to influence the allocation of city funds, including those directed to NeighborWorks. This dual role raises significant ethical concerns and the appearance of impropriety, which could compromise both his duties on the City Council and his responsibilities within your organization.'
Pousley and five other candidates are vying in the primary for three Democratic nominations to appear on the Nov. 4 general election ballot, including incumbent Councilman Tom Schuster, Virgil Argenta, Patrick Flynn, Frankie Malacaria and Sean McAndrew.
During public comment at recent weekly council meetings, Argenta has raised as an issue a potential conflict of interest of Pousley running for council.
City funding to NeighborWorks for its Beautiful Blocks program in recent years was budgeted at $30,000 in each of 2022 and 2023, $40,000 in 2024 and $100,000 in 2025, according to the city's 2025 Operating Budget.
Regarding Fitzgerald sending the letter to the county Board of Elections, county spokesman Pat McKenna said via email that the board 'does not consider ethics issues regarding individual races, but deals with election administration.'
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