EASTON, Pa. – Two weeks after accepting the resignation of his top aide for Election Day “failures,” Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure appointed a new acting director of administration.
McClure on Friday announced the appointment of Nicole Pietrzak to the $103,000-a-year job.
A county employee since May 2022, Pietrzak served as the deputy director of human resources, responsible for the department's day-to day operations, expanding employee training, and developing projects to modernize systems and promote efficiency.
As acting director of administration, she replaces Charles Dertinger, a longtime McClure political ally whose job included oversight of the county Elections Division.
The Nov. 7 general election was plagued by errors with the printout summaries produced by voting machines. They prompted poll workers to stop using the machines temporarily and rely on emergency paper ballots that were in short supply at voting precincts across the county.
McClure accepted Dertinger’s resignation Nov. 24 and has maintained the problems should have been caught in pre-Election Day testing by the county elections office and the company that supplies the voting machines.
Pietrzak will start her new job Monday, said McClure, a Democrat who plans to seek a third term in office in 2025.
“Since 2014, Nicole has a significant record of service in labor relations, employee engagement, project management, and strategic planning,” he said in a prepared statement. “She has the experience and knowledge Northampton County needs moving forward.”
The Department of Administration provides direct management oversight of Administrative Services, Emergency Management Services (EM & 911), Weights and Measures, Agricultural Extension, Farmland Preservation, Conduct of Elections, and Conservation District.
It is responsible for the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements with county employees; directs and supervises the enforcement of state laws and county ordinances; and directs the planning process of all county agencies.