Since Bruce Smallacombe was sworn into office on June 28, he has already met with more than half the departments in Lackawanna County government, starting at 7 a.m. each morning. He works a full day in the office from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 or sometimes 5:30 p.m., and then attends borough and township meetings at night to introduce himself in between the five softball games on his schedule this week alone. He also hopes to change the way county government works in 187 days. “I get about five hours of sleep a night,” Smallacombe admitted with a smile. The ambitious 57-year-old now fills the seat of former Republican Minority Commissioner A.J. Munchak, who was convicted on eight counts of public corruption in federal court and stepped down on June 22. While he feels some may be skeptical of his intentions after witnessing such a historic trial, Smallacombe also believes his personality and record will justify his appointment by the county court en banc in the eyes of citizens. “Anybody who knows me is not skeptical of why I’m here because I am such a people person and I believe in our area. I love this area,” he said. “I haven’t been given a silver spoon,” said Smallacombe, who recently served 10 years as mayor of Jermyn. “I worked my way up from a ditch digger and pipe layer to a county commissioner with a high school education. I’ve worked hard at being the best mayor I could be. We’ve made tremendous strides in Jermyn.” During his term as mayor, Smallacombe handled flooding issues, built a Little League field, started a historical society, updated technology in the borough building, set up a public events committee, remodeled the police station and purchased new equipment for the officers while improving their pay, and set up a website for the borough. “I’m an idea person. I brought a lot to the table in that town … There are a lot of things that I think we can do differently in the county, especially in our park system, our road system, our amphitheater, our airport, our stadium – those are thing that I have a pretty good general knowledge of,” Smallacombe said.
He feels his experience as a small town mayor will help him to better address the needs of outlying areas that may get overlooked for funding or assistance. “I think I can bring a lot of the small municipalities’ needs to the county, address those situations and try to help them. The municipalities are getting tapped with unfunded mandates from the state such as new signage,” he observed. “I’m a firm believer in not spending taxpayers’ money foolishly and spending it on things that are niceties but not necessities.” He has also been looking for feedback from county employees, visiting them daily and asking for their open and honest input – something he was told other commissioners haven’t done in years. “To me, to be a hands-on commissioner, you’ve got to be involved with every form of government and every department – find out their needs, find out who the people are and see what they’re doing and how we can improve their departments. “Yes, you have department heads that do that, but the commissioners also have to have that input not just from the department heads, but from the employees,” he explained. Creating an equal partnership The seemingly ineffective role of the minority commissioner has been called into question many times over the years, particularly by Munchak and current Majority Commissioner Mike Washo, who served as a minority under Munchak and Robert Cordaro’s administration. One of Smallacombe’s main goals is to break down those party lines. “I don’t think the commissioners worked hard enough to try to change that position. It’s supposed to be three equal partners working for one goal. “I understand the political part of it, where there’s a majority politically and a minority politically, but take politics out of government and put three people together with the same ideas and the same goals and you change government,” Smallacombe said. “If I can change the role of the minority commissioner to an equal partner in six months, I’ve accomplished something great for the people of Lackawanna County.”
This isn’t Smallacombe’s first foray into county government, either. He serves as vice president of the Lackawanna County Association of Boroughs and was the director of the Roads and Bridges Department for the county for four years. After being fired in 2008 when Washo and Corey O’Brien took office, Smallacombe filed a lawsuit, alleging he was let go for political reasons. Refusing to discuss the suit as it is still in litigation, he said he would abstain from voting on any issue related to it that may arise and doesn’t feel it will impede his ability to work with his fellow commissioners. “We get along like equal partners so far in this process. As long as that litigation doesn’t come into play, I think we can work together and accomplish some good things. I don’t see it as being a problem,” he said. “I can get along with anybody. I’ll disagree with them when I have to, and I’ll work for them when it’s for the betterment of the county … I would make a tough political decision for the people, even if it meant that I was never going to be elected again. If we can get politics out of government, maybe government will work.”
