Westmoreland elections director fired days before her ouster was made public

Jul. 1—Westmoreland County's now former election bureau director was fired a week before her bosses officially signed off on her removal, according to a document obtained Thursday.

The firing of Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani was effective June 19, according to an "action form" created by the county's human services department four days later. That document was signed June 25 by all three county commissioners and indicated Sebastiani's job was terminated.

Officials on Tuesday announced the county was seeking a new election bureau director but commissioners refused to disclose how or why Sebastiani, who served as the department head since last August, was removed from the job. She had been off the job on a paid suspension that started on June 8.

"It's a personnel issue and we tried to make the best decision we can," Commissioner Sean Kertes said Thursday. Kertes declined to discuss specifics of Sebastiani's firing, saying only that commissioners acted based on recommendations from the county's human resources director and solicitor.

Kertes on Tuesday, less than an hour before the county issued a statement acknowledging Sebastiani's ouster, said he had no knowledge of her job status but explained Thursday his previous comment was an attempt to say that he was unsure when an official announcement would be made.

Sebastiani, 63, was hired as election bureau director in August after a five-year stint as a deputy director in the county's tax office. She oversaw last fall's presidential election and this spring's municipal primary, but came under fire after several ballot issues and counting delays plagued both elections. Several departures among election bureau staffers also impacted operations, officials said.

She declined comment when contacted Thursday afternoon.

Prior to Sebastiani's hiring, previous directors had experience and a connection to the election bureau before taking over the department.

Jim Montini, who served for a decade as Westmoreland County's election bureau director until his retirement in 2016, said experience is essential in overseeing the elections process. Beth Lechman, his deputy director, assumed the department's top job after Montini's retirement. She resigned last summer.

"It's a very public position and so many things can happen that are out of your control," Montini said. "You prepare for 365 days for those two days. It's an extremely difficult job."

Unlike Sebastiani, Montini was familiar with the election bureau operations, having served as a specialist in the computer information department assigned to assist the elections staff before he was hired as the department's director.

Montini declined to discuss Sebastiani's tenure in the election office or the issues that led to her firing.

"She walked into an impossible job, especially during a pandemic," Montini said.

Commissioners announced earlier this week the county is seeking applicants for Sebastiani's replacement. That person will be required to have at least three years of elections experience, commissioners said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .