Former Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Matt McGloin resigned from the job with Boston College’s football program that he left county government Monday to take.
Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien told ESPN reporter Pete Thamel that McGloin resigned from the offensive analyst position for family reasons.
McGloin, a former Penn State and NFL quarterback who resigned as commissioner effective Monday for the Boston College opportunity, issued a statement Wednesday saying his first priority is his family.
“This week I made a difficult and life-changing decision without full awareness of the consequences it would have on my wife and young children,” McGloin said.
“I truly believed that my decision to accept a role in Boston would be good for my family, but upon further consideration the timing of such a move proved to be less than optimal,” he continued. “I appreciate your respect for the privacy of my family and me at this time.”
The statement did not address whether McGloin has any intention of trying to reclaim his commissioners seat.
His political resignation triggered an ongoing process to fill the vacancy that’s been the source of sparring between Democratic Commissioner Bill Gaughan and Lackawanna County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Patrick in recent days.
Under the county’s Home Rule Charter, the county party’s 31-member executive committee has five days from the date of the vacancy to submit a list of three potential appointees to the judges of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. The judges would then pick one of those three people to fill the remainder of McGloin’s term, which expires Jan. 3, 2028.
Gaughan on Monday announced Dunmore Mayor Mark “Max” Conway Jr. as his preferred choice to replace McGloin, calling on the committee to include Conway on the short list. He reaffirmed his support for Conway on Wednesday.
McGloin had his best college season for Penn State under O’Brien in 2012, making the job at Boston College a reunion of coach and former star player. What McGloin’s plans are now remain unclear.
It was also not immediately clear if McGloin could rescind his resignation as commissioner, or if he would want to. But state law does allow former public officials to be reappointed to the same position they resigned from if that reappointment doesn’t result in a higher salary than the salary they earned when they resigned.
“I just hope whatever he does is best for him and his family and I wish him and his family the best,” Gaughan said of McGloin. “It’s his personal decision and it’s his life and he’s got to do what is best for him and his two children.”
Patrick, the county Democratic Party chairman, said earlier this week that the party’s executive committee would meet Thursday to decide which three potential appointees to submit for consideration by the county judges. At least 20 people had expressed interest in the appointment, he said.
Patrick confirmed Wednesday that he’s proceeding with that process and the planned Thursday vote.
“Absolutely,” he said in a text message.
McGloin and Gaughan won election in 2023 and took office as the county’s Democratic majority commissioners in January 2024. They spent much of their time in office attempting to solve problems they inherited, including pronounced financial challenges.
Among other corrective actions, Gaughan and McGloin approved in November a nearly 33% county property tax hike to help eliminate a structural budget deficit otherwise projected to reach about $29 million this year. That projected structural deficit originally stood at about $37 million, but officials curtailed it to roughly $29 million through spending cuts and other remedial measures preceding the tax hike.
The majority commissioners argued the hike was unavoidable after years of financial mismanagement by previous administrations who used one-time revenue sources and “gimmicks” to hide a worsening fiscal crisis.
Both Patrick and Democratic state Sen. Marty Flynn mentioned the tax hike this week in the context of filling the vacancy. Patrick also noted the countywide property reassessment that will take effect next year and its potential to result in higher tax bills for some property owners.
The party’s goal is to hold the Democratic majority in the commissioners office when those seats are on the ballot next in 2027, he said Monday.
“And my job as the Democratic committee chairman is to elect Democrats, and I’m looking at ’27 and I’m looking at keeping that office blue in ’27, in spite of a 33% tax hike and in spite of reassessment next year,” Patrick said.
Framing a tax hike made necessary by past mismanagement as a political liability is “completely unfair,” Gaughan said.
“When you walk into a situation where you inherit a huge mess like we did — the millions of dollars of unpaid bills, the $37 million structural deficit — you have to take action, and we did,” he said. “My job is not to play politics. It’s to govern and to turn this county around financially, and that’s what I’m concerned about.”
