The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners celebrated 50 years of Andrea Naugle’s service to the community Sept. 28, 2022. A year later - Sept. 27 - they began the process of finding her replacement.

Naugle decided it is time to retire from her post as clerk of judicial records, which she has held since 2008.

Due to tight procedural timing with the Nov. 7 elections approaching, the board unanimously passed Bill 46, Waiving Section 206.6 of the administrative code for the vacancy in the office of the clerk of judicial records. This change allows the intergovernmental and appointments committee to make a recommendation to the board “no more than 45 days from the effective date of the vacancy.”

Chair Geoff Brace explained the situation before the vote.

“The challenge is that the next day is our meeting, Nov. 8, and we would have to act before Nov. 15,” Brace said. “Which means we would effectively have only a couple of days between the 7th and the 15th to act. We might need a special meeting if the winner is not clear.”

Brace said he hopes the outcome of the election would provide a clear winner, but if that were not the case, he would call a special meeting for either Nov. 13 or 14.

One month after releasing his report “The Cost of Misdiagnosis,” Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley addressed the board, calling for action.

“It’s one thing to say that the board does not have the legal authority to alter existing state laws, it is quite another to say the board is powerless to use its influence to call for an investigation on policy studies,” Pinsley said.

Pinsley also addressed comments made by Commissioner Ron Beitler.

“I did not, as you alleged, sit on information and wait for the most opportune time,” Pinsley reported. “These families have been voicing their complaints for years. Furthermore, caseworkers have been reporting this up their chain of command. Many people in CYS were already familiar with this doctor. When I learned about what was going on, I attempted to take these issues directly to every member of this board.”

He continued, alleging that neither Beitler nor Commissioner Jeffrey Dutt responded to his calls.

Pinsley was followed by a handful of individuals sharing their personal stories with the board.