logo
City council President Smurl withdraws as candidate for reelection

City council President Smurl withdraws as candidate for reelection

Yahoo17-03-2025

Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl withdrew as a candidate for reelection, citing an issue with certain signatures on his nomination petitions.
Smurl, an incumbent Democrat, said he withdrew those petitions Monday.
'It came to my attention over the weekend that some of my campaign people got a bit overzealous … and actually got signatures that were not verified,' Smurl said. 'All it means is they didn't actually see the people sign a few of these.'
Smurl described the handful of signatures in question as valid but said he didn't want the mistake to become an issue.
'It's not right,' he said. 'I wouldn't accept it if somebody else did it and don't expect any to accept it because I did it.'
Smurl said he's exploring whether he might still be able to pursue reelection as an independent candidate. But his exit from the Democratic primary field changes the dynamic in an election year where three of council's five seats — those currently held by Smurl, Democratic Councilman Bill King and Democratic Councilman Tom Schuster — are up for grabs.
King is not seeking reelection this year.
Smurl's withdrawal leaves six candidates vying for three Democratic nominations to appear on November's municipal election ballot: Schuster, Virgil Argenta, Patrick Flynn, Frankie Malacaria, Sean McAndrew and Todd Pousley.
Republican Marc Pane is also running for council.
Check back for updates.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Vance on LA unrest: Newsom should ‘look in mirror' and stop blaming Trump
Vance on LA unrest: Newsom should ‘look in mirror' and stop blaming Trump

The Hill

time13 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Vance on LA unrest: Newsom should ‘look in mirror' and stop blaming Trump

Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday tore into California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for suggesting the unrest in Los Angeles is a consequence of federal involvement in state and local law enforcement efforts. 'Gavin Newsom says he didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Vance wrote in a post on X, attaching two photos that he said were taken before Trump ordered the National Guard to protect border patrol agents in California. One depicted rioters appearing to attack a 'border patrol' van, and another depicted a car set ablaze. The Hill was not able to verify the authenticity of the photos. 'Does this look like 'no problem'?' Vance asked. Vance suggested Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass 'fomented and encouraged the riots,' with the goal of promoting mass migration into the U.S., adding, 'It is their reason for being.' 'If you want to know why illegal aliens flocked to your state, stop accusing Donald Trump. Look in the mirror,' Vance said. 'If you want to know why border patrol fear for their lives over enforcing the law, look in the mirror.' Vance pointed to California's Medicaid expansion last year to low-income undocumented immigrants as an example of a policy that has 'encouraged mass migration into California.' Newsom has since proposed ending new Medicaid enrollment for undocumented adults, but his proposal faces resistance from the state legislature. 'Your policies that protected those migrants from common sense law enforcement. Your policies that offered massive welfare benefits to reward illegal immigrants. Your policies that allowed those illegal migrants (and their sympathizers) to assault our law enforcement. Your policies that allowed Los Angeles to turn into a war zone,' Vance continued. 'You sure as hell had a problem before President Trump came along. The problem is YOU,' Vance added. Vance's post is the latest in a back-and-forth between the administration and Newsom, who has resisted Trump's extraordinary steps to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops to the area and mobilize 700 active-duty marines. Newsom has insisted that the situation was under control before the Trump administration escalated tensions by making a provocative show of force. He accused Trump of 'intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities and endangering the principles of our great democracy.' After Trump suggested his border czar arrest Newsom, the California governor responded by saying, 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.' 'I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism,' Newsom added Monday afternoon. Vance then replied to Newsom, saying, 'Do your job. That's all we're asking.' 'Do YOUR job. We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved. Rescind the order. Return control to California,' Newsom responded, prompting Vance's latest response.

Impeachment wars
Impeachment wars

Axios

time16 minutes ago

  • Axios

Impeachment wars

Rep. Jasmine Crockett's mere mention of a possible impeachment inquiry into President Trump has touched off negative reactions from some colleagues. "I think she's going to turn off a lot more people than gain," a House Democrat told us. Why it matters: House Democratic leaders are staying neutral. But many Democrats are allergic to the word after they impeached Trump twice only for him to return to power with full control of the government. Crockett (D-Texas), asked in a local news interview if she would pursue impeachment if Democrats retook the House in 2026 and she became Oversight Committee chair, said she would "absolutely at least do an inquiry." The other three candidates for the ranking member job on Oversight, Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), told us they wouldn't go that far. 👿 "Turning this ranker race into a proxy for impeachment is unhelpful and unfair to her colleagues," said a House Democrat who predicted Republicans will "try to motivate their base by saying that a Democratic majority will inevitably lead to impeachment." Crockett told us the term "impeachment inquiry" would stress to the public the "next level of gravity" of the subject matter — such as Trump's pardons for big money allies and the Qatari jet scandal. "A lot of times we as Democrats can overthink stuff," Crockett said. "A lot of people ... felt like [Oversight Committee chair] James Comer was an embarrassment. But at the end of the day, who won the House?" The bottom line: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries deferred to House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), whose panel, he said, "has jurisdiction over impeachment."

Adams Team Works Behind Scenes to Try to Sway Rabbis Against Cuomo
Adams Team Works Behind Scenes to Try to Sway Rabbis Against Cuomo

New York Times

time18 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Adams Team Works Behind Scenes to Try to Sway Rabbis Against Cuomo

Mayor Eric Adams may be running an unusually low-key race for re-election in New York City, opting out of the Democratic primary and mounting an independent general election run without even a campaign manager to steer it. But behind the scenes, he is making an aggressive play to try to shape the field to his liking and hold onto a key voting bloc. A top aide to Mr. Adams has been calling Orthodox Jewish leaders in recent weeks to urge them not to back Andrew M. Cuomo in the June 24 Democratic primary, or to temper their support for him if they do, according to six people familiar with the effort. Mr. Adams's allies have indicated they believe he would have a better chance of winning the general election if Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist assemblyman now polling in second place, defeats Mr. Cuomo and becomes the Democratic nominee. At the same time, Mr. Adams has used his mayoral powers to make policy pronouncements that seem designed to resonate with some Orthodox Jews. He signed an executive order recognizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism and created the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism to address the spike in antisemitic hate crimes in the city. 'He is going around to people to ask for support for the general election,' said Rabbi Moishe Indig, a leader of one faction of the Satmar Hasidic group in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 'He would love that everyone just ignore the primary and wait until the fall.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store