After years of complaints about the way she ran the Lebanon County Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts office, Lisa Arnold pleaded guilty to a summary charge Thursday.
Except, she didn’t.
Her attorney, Sean Cullen, did.
That left a whole bunch of people feeling unsatisfied and there was plenty of grumbling in the Lebanon County Municipal Building Friday morning.
While everyone acknowledged relief that the long, sad saga had come to an end — with Arnold resigning her elected position and receiving a fine from Senior Judge Lawrence Clark — no one was happy that Clark allowed Arnold to enter her guilty plea through Cullen and then receive her sentence in absentia.
Clark, who knew in advance that Arnold would not attend the proceeding due to a medical issue, did not seek comments from anyone in attendance before taking the plea and imposing the sentence.
Arnold’s plea was for failing to submit required paperwork to PennDOT, which caused some defendants to have to wait weeks or months longer than they should have to have their driver’s licenses returned. A misdemeanor charge of obstructing administration of law or other governmental function was withdrawn as part of her plea agreement.
There had been other complaints over the years from judges, lawyers, county commissioners and District Attorney David Arnold about Arnold. In March 2009, county officials filed a complaint in mandamus against Arnold but that complaint effectively sat dormant.
That pending lawsuit didn’t stop Arnold from winning re-election to a third four-year term in November 2011, when she received 10,159 votes to 6,178 for Democrat Pam Tricamo.
In August 2013, the stakes were raised when David Arnold requested the state Attorney General’s Office to review a complaint from County Administrator Jamie Wolgemuth and the Lebanon County Commissioners, who alleged that Arnold neglected her duties by failing to submit forms and driver’s licenses to PennDOT.
So Arnold is gone, and her job will be split between Eileen Lutz, first deputy clerk of courts, and Deb Rothermel, deputy prothonotary, until Gov. Tom Corbett appoints a successor.
No one know how long that process will take, or how it will play out.
Will Corbett consult Lebanon County President Judge John Tylwalk or David Arnold or county commissioners or Wolgemuth or members of the Lebanon County Republican Committee or Sen. Mike Folmer or Reps. Mauree Gingrich and RoseMarie Swanger? Or maybe Corbett will check in with the natural gas companies?
Because there is no time frame involved, it’s possible the position will remain split between Lutz and Rothermel until January, when Corbett will begin his second term or Democrat Tom Wolf will succeed him.
Or maybe the position will be left open for the voters to decide next year.
Another question for which no one seems to know the answer: Will Lisa Arnold be allowed to retain her seat on the Lebanon County Republican Committee’s Executive Committee? That group seems to be very concerned about ethics and morals lately, so this ought to be another interesting topic for discussion.
Follow along on Twitter @sesnyderleb.