Westmoreland finds new county elections bureau director in its tax office

The deputy director of Westmoreland County’s tax department was hired Monday as the new head of the county’s elections bureau.

JoAnn Sebastiani, 62, of Hempfield will take over the office that will be under the microscope this fall as county officials gear up for what is expected to be the most heavily watched election in decades amid political unease and an ongoing pandemic.

“She’s done a tremendous job in the tax office. She has the ability to learn, and when she came to the tax office she didn’t have the experience there either,” said county Commissioner Sean Kertes. “I have total faith in JoAnn, and I believe she will be a great asset to the office.”

Sebastiani replaces Beth Lechman, who resigned this month after serving as elections bureau director since 2016.

Commissioners said as many as seven applicants were interviewed for the job.

Sebastiani will be paid $52,770 a year. Lechman was paid about $69,000.

In addition to Sebastiani’s hiring, commissioners formally named Scott Sistek as the department’s top deputy, a job he has held as a temporary position since last spring. Commissioners also named a new registrar and manager for the warehouse where voting machines are stored.

“JoAnn has been an employee in management at the county for many years,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli. “We have full confidence in her ability based on her experience and work ethic in her previous role.”

Commissioners touted Sebastiani’s work in the county tax office, in which she was responsible for upgraded technology and streamlined tax sale procedures.

Sebastiani holds an accounting degree from West Virginia University and has a professional background that includes various private sector finance and customer relations jobs.

The challenges ahead for Sebastiani and the elections bureau are substantial with the presidential general election less than three months away. Officials are bracing for what could be an overwhelming volume of mail-in ballots in a high-turnout election. About half of the more than 80,000 ballots cast during the June primary were by mail. Officials anticipate a much larger turnout in November among the county’s 239,000 registered voters.

New voting equipment, in which voters chose candidates on touch screen computers, then scan printed paper ballots, will be used at 307 polling locations in a general election for the time this fall.

Sebastiani said she is ready for the challenge. She met with her staff Monday and will conduct weekly staff meetings to ensure the county is ready for the election.

“The challenge is the short time we have until the Election Day, but we won’t have any problems meeting the deadlines. I have an experienced staff, and we have an organization in place,” Sebastiani said.