Wayne County Commissioners pay respects to the late Robert Carmody

Carmody was a Democrat. When he was first sworn in in 1976, he and Fries, also a newly elected commissioner, formed a Democratic majority for the first time in 60 years in Wayne County. Simons was the only Republican on board. They were sworn in by Judge James Rutherford. Carmody was chairman in the 1970s. Starting in 1988, he was the minority Democrat.

He stated in a 1997 interview for The Times-Tribune that he was never treated as a “minority commissioner” among a majority Republican party, any more than how the lone Republican was treated when Carmody was among the majority. Instead, the board worked together for the county, he said.

The issue of allowing Las Vegas-style casino gambling in the Poconos came up in 1977. Carmody stated in a story in The Times-Tribune in April that “Atlantic City will be close enough for our residents.”

In April 2004, when the commissioners decided on a location for a new county jail, Carmody was the lone vote against the move to Indian Orchard. He preferred to stay at the Honesdale jail, closer to the courthouse, so that inmates did not have to be transported three miles or appear in court via teleconference. He said in a story in The Times-Tribune at the time that he does not believe in “closed-circuit justice.”