Deputy director hired for Westmoreland election bureau

For the first time in five years, Westmoreland County has a deputy director of the election bureau.

The county commissioners on Thursday announced the hiring of Hannah Lindley, 31, of Bentleyville, Washington County, to serve as second in command of the office that oversees elections in Westmoreland County. Lindley served for more than six years as the assistant director of Washington County’s election office.

Lindley’s hiring culminates a reorganization of the office that has seen years of administrative turnover, including the resignation of the county’s longtime director following the 2020 presidential primary, the firing of an assistant director later that year and the hiring and firing of a new director in 2021.

The commissioners later appointed Public Works Director Greg McCloskey to head the office in 2021, where he served until he retired at the end of last year. The county’s technology director, Scott Ross, was appointed to run the election bureau this year.

“We are truly happy to have someone of her caliber come to Westmoreland County,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said. “It’s nice to have someone that seasoned and have elections under her belt.”

Lindley will be paid $76,149 as the election bureau deputy director.

Commissioners said she will be viewed as a potential successor to Ross.

“The key is for us to remain vigilant to the changing dynamics of elections all over the state of Pennsylvania and make adjustments like we did this month as needed,” Commissioner Doug Chew said.

Ross said Lindley’s experience will be a benefit to election administration in Westmoreland County.

“Hannah really crossed all of our t’s and dotted our i’s. She knows the state system and worked with our same vendors,” Ross said. “Really, the only thing we have to teach her is the ins and outs of Westmoreland County.”

Other personnel moves

Lindley’s hiring was among dozens of personnel moves approved Thursday by the commissioners, acting as the county’s salary board, that included approval of a salary increase designed to entice qualified candidates to take over leadership of the public defender’s office.

Former Public Defender Wayne McGrew resigned this month after 13 years as the head of the office of lawyers who represent indigent defendants in Westmoreland County.

Commissioners increased the base salary for a yet-to-hired public defender to $115,478, a nearly $35,000 increase above the previous salary scale.

A search for a permanent replacement for McGrew is expected to begin this year.

Former Assistant Public Defender John Sweeney was named last month as the office’s interim director. Sweeney will receive a prorated salary of $72,527 but will be limited to work up to 1,000 hours, the commissioners said.

While most of the salary board actions won unanimous approval, two new positions approved for the clerk of courts office and a $13,000 raise granted to the sheriff’s department office manager were challenged by Commissioner Ted Kopas.

“We can’t continue to add to the payroll, add administrative positions and wonder why we are broke,” Kopas said. “Part of the job is to say no.”