Griffith will be controller once again

Republican Walter Griffith will be Luzerne County controller once again because he unseated incumbent Democrat Michelle Bednar, according to unofficial general election results.

A 67-year-old Kingston Township resident, Griffith is midway through a county council term but said he wants to return to the controller seat because he would have expansive access to records and freedom to examine and highlight concerns.

He had served as controller 2010 until 2013. He resigned that year as part of a plea agreement for recording two phone calls related to office matters and a closed-door executive session without permission of the parties involved. He said he made a mistake in his efforts to fight for the people, and voters subsequently elected him to council in 2019.

A semi-retired former auto repair business owner, Griffith said he has proven his commitment to review and investigate county finances and procedures.

“I appreciate all the people who voted for me and am humbled for the support,” Griffith said. “It is a real honor to serve the people of Luzerne County as their county councilman and now as their county controller.”

Conclusions about the outcome are based on results available at 12:30 a.m., with 180 of 186 precincts reported. Results from one precinct in Hazle Township had not yet been delivered to the election bureau at that time, and results from the remaining five precincts in Swoyersville, Plymouth Township and Bear Creek Township won’t be tallied until Wednesday.

In the unofficial vote tally with 180 of 186 precincts reporting, Griffith received 28,837 votes to Bednar’s 27,187, providing a 1,650 vote lead.

Bednar congratulated Griffith.

A 55-year-old Conyngham Township resident, Bednar was first elected controller in 2013 and beat Griffith when they ran against each other in 2017. She was seeking one final, four-year term, which is the max under the charter’s three-term limit.

“It was a great honor to hold that position and work for the citizens of Luzerne County,” Bednar said. “I felt we really accomplished a lot in the eight years that we were there.”

Griffith thanked Bednar and her staff for the audits they completed the last eight years.

He said there are winners and losers in every election, and he’s been on both sides.

“We both ran good, clean campaigns that were not nasty,” Griffith said.

The controller is paid $64,999 annually to be the “independent watchdog over county fiscal and management activities” under the county’s home rule charter that took effect in January 2012. It gives the controller authority to conduct audits of any county department, authority, board or commission and latitude to perform a wide range of reviews, including fiscal, performance, management, contract and compliance audits.

The controller’s office currently has a $271,553 budget and a staff of four in addition to the controller — a deputy controller and three auditors.

Griffith rattled off some of the many items he wants to examine, such as ensuring purchases are procured through bids or public requests-for-proposals as required by the charter and checking contracts to see if both the county and vendor fulfilled their obligations.

The controller also sits on the county ethics commission, and he wants to work with fellow commission members to suggest ethics code improvements to council.

The county’s procedures to track employee time also warrant a controller’s office review, he said.

“It’s not punitive and trying to ID people with a gotcha attitude. It’s making the county accountable to taxpayers who pay the bill,” Griffith said.

Griffith also reiterated he is non-partisan and that party affiliation will play no role in his assessments.

His win means county council will have to appoint another Republican to fill his council seat through 2023.