York County solicitor Michèlle Pokrifka resigns

York County's solicitor has resigned, although the precise circumstances remained unclear Friday.

Commissioner Doug Hoke confirmed that Michèlle Pokrifka, who had been the county's head solicitor since 2018, is leaving the county later this year. She submitted her letter of resignation earlier in the week.

"I was surprised," Hoke said. "I didn’t know Michèlle was considering leaving. I’ve had a good working relationship with her over the years. I’ve gotten along well with her, and I wish her well."

Pokrikfa was promoted to head solicitor in 2018 after former solicitor Glenn Smith left the county. The solicitor's office did not return a request for comment.

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Chief Clerk Greg Monskie said that, as of Friday afternoon, Pokrifka was still employed by the county.

President Commissioner Julie Wheeler did not respond to a request for comment. Messages left for Pokrifka also were not returned.

In her time with the county, Pokrifka advised county officials on a number of heavily scrutinized legal issues, including last year's attempts at getting a referendum on the ballot to ban electronic voting machines in Jacobus.

"The York County Board of Elections would also reject any future local referendum regarding the discontinuance of electronic voting systems or machines for the same reason unless there were changes in the federal and state laws that revived the allowance of local referendums on these topics," Pokrifka wrote in a letter to the York County Board of Elections last year.

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— Reach Matt Enright via email at menright@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @Matthew_Enright.