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Luzerne County Democratic Party Chair John Pekarovsky Resigns, Kathy Bozinski To Take Over

The Luzerne County Democratic Party has new leadership.

On Tuesday, Luzerne County Democratic Party Chairman John Pekarovsky announced his resignation from leading the local party. Vice Chair Kathy Bozinski will take over as Chair.

In a Facebook post, Pekarovsky said it was a difficult decision, but said there were too many potential conflicts for keeping the role due to his role being the Treasurer for Citizens for Yudichak, the Luzerne County state Senator who changed his registration from Democrat to Independent last week, plus his wife working on Yudichak’s staff. 

“I regretfully announce my resignation as the Chairman of the Luzerne County Democratic Organization,” Pekarovsky writes from the Luzerne County Democratic Party Facebook account. “This is not something I planned to do or wanted to do, however at this time I believe it is in the best interest for the Luzerne County Democratic Organization.”

Pekarovsky wrote in the post that Ryan Smith of the Pennsylvania Democratic Organization told him to consider staying in the role leading the local party and that his wife working for Yudichak was a “non-factor,” although he would have to resign as Treasurer for Citizens for Yudichak. 

“After a lot of thought, I decided that there are too many potential conflicts for me to effectively do my job as the Democratic Party Chairman,” Pekarovsky continued to write. “My fear is every time someone disagreed with a decision I made, it would be brought up that John is a friend of mine, or that my wife works on his staff. Eventually it would tear our local Organization apart.”

Pekarovsky, who has also served over 20 years as a Democrat elected Councilman on Larksville Borough Council, was first elected to lead the Luzerne County Democratic Party in June 2018

Despite leaving his role, Pekarovsky said that he plans to continue helping the Luzerne County Democratic Party and their endorsed candidates.

Bozinski wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday night thanking the support she’s received from the Democrats in the community, including Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Lackawanna) and state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne). She also announced and congratulated Thomas M. Shubilla as the new Vice Chairman of the Luzerne County Democratic Party. 

“I am humbled by and grateful for the outpouring of support I’ve received from hundreds of Democrats across our Luzerne County community,” Bozinski wrote on the local party’s Facebook account. “We are one team, one party, working hard to make our community and nation a better place for working families, children, older adults and members of Labor who continue to be the backbone of a better way of life for all. Please join with us as we move Luzerne County forward, together.”

8 Responses

  1. The new Chair of the D’s is a top exec at United Way. Shouldn’t someone challenge the nonprofit status of a partisan party official heading a nonprofit? What a joke on the people who donate.

    1. So she has access to all the United Way donors and what will stop her from using those names to solicit money for her political party. Investigation needed.

    2. She’s not a top level executive, has an extensive background in TV, radio and PR.” And does their media relations. She’s not part of their fundraising team and wouldn’t have much interaction with the donor base. On a number of boards of directors in Luzerne County, bested in the community and generally well liked, Has covered a story I was involved in and was very fair handed.

  2. So the state party required John Pekarovsky to resign or denounce his friendship to the Senator? Maybe this is why the dems are losing the fight in NEPA. It is either conform or else. Who in the Luz. County Dems now has the experience in running a fundraiser campaign of this size? Any of them have relationships with the dems partners like the african american or hispanic communities? How about the labor unions in which NEPA always brags about other than the Union traitor Pashinski? Voted down major job creation bills that the Union trades would have benefited from in the democratic establishment hated Natural gas industry. @PoliticsPA should raise these questions and see what your Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, & Treasurer have to say. Lets start conducting real journalism.

    1. I think as an elected committee woman I deserve a chance to vote in a special election to whom represents our party.

      1. Okay Yudicheck stooge. Where did it say renounce his friendship. He’s someone from another party’s treasurer that’s a bit of conflict of interest. Have you told the next executive board this? Have you read their bylaws.

        1. Ric Santorum, Jr….Wake up and smell the java. This is about the woefully deficient leadership in the Democratic State Senate and not what is going on in Luzerne County. Thoughtful, skilled, instinctive and politically intelligent leaders would not have had the exit of Senator Yudichak happen. The bungled leaders of the Democratic State Senate through poor political and diplomatic skills lost a key member of their caucus. This is the bottom line here.

        2. Nope not a John Yudichak stooge. As I am questioning the whole E board which still has plenty of Yudichaks people. Their secretary worked as a staffer for John Yudichaks Senate Staff. Noone is questioning that?

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