Schnee's replacement on Luzerne council should be a Republican, office of law recommends - Standard Speaker
Robert Schnee’s replacement on Luzerne County Council should be a Republican, interim chief solicitor Harry Skene said in an opinion issued Friday.
That makes it all but certain that council, with a 9-1 Republican majority, will appoint a Republican to fill the seat Schnee resigned after he was elected to the 116th District state House seat in an April 5 special election.
Normally, there is no question about the party affiliation of someone who fills a council vacancy, since the county charter stipulates the new council member must belong to the same party as the person who resigned the seat.
In Schnee’s case, that was not clear-cut.
Schnee was a registered Democrat when he was reelected to council in 2019, though he appeared on both party lines since he won the Republican nomination via write-in votes.
Last year, Schnee changed his party registration to Republican. He was elected to the state House as a Republican.
The charter states that a person who fills a vacant council seat “shall be a member of the same political party as the person he/she is to succeed and shall have been a member of that party continuously from the time the person whose office is to be filled was most recently elected or appointed to the office.”
In an opinion sent to council, Skene wrote:
“The person chosen to fill the vacant seat needs to meet three requirements per the Charter:
1. The person must possess the qualifications set forth in the Charter and applicable law; and
2. The person shall be of the same political party as the person he/she is to succeed; and
3. The person shall have been a member of that party continuously from the time the person whose office is to be filled was most recently elected or appointed to the office.
At the time of resignation, Mr. Schnee was a Republican. Based upon the above criteria, County Council shall appoint a person who meets the requirements of the Charter and applicable law, be a Republican and shall have been a Republican since Mr. Schnee was elected to this seat in November 2019.”
Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said a Republican should fill the vacancy, based on the language in the charter, though he added it is a gray area.
“This is a precedent-setting situation,” said Lombardo, a Republican. “We’ve never been in a situation like this before.”
Tim McGinley, the lone Democrat on council, said he thinks the vacancy should be filled by a Democrat, since Schnee was a registered Democrat when he was reelected.
McGinley said he hopes the county Democratic Party will appeal if council appoints a Republican to fill the vacancy.
That might happen, county Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Bozinski said Sunday.
“I have been discussing it with our legal advisers,” Bozinski said. “We are reaching out to them. We shall see how we will proceed.”
The process of soliciting letters of interest, holding interviews and appointing a new council member will likely take at least a month.
Council will take the first step in the process Tuesday, by declaring the seat vacant.
The person council appoints will serve the remainder of Schnee’s term, which expires at the end of 2023.
source: https://www.standardspeaker.com/schnees-replacement-on-luzerne-council-should-be-a-republican-office-of-law-recommends/article_df26e0d4-3cf3-58fc-9055-4a9e4cd9bcc3.html
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