Petition dismissed
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A petition by three Canonsburg Borough councilmen aimed at unseating the council president and vice president was dismissed by a Washington County judge this week.
Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca ordered Thursday that the “legally deficient” petition be dismissed, and both District Attorney Eugene Vittone and Attorney General Kathleen Kane declined to consider the case.
Attorney William Bresnahan filed the petition last month on behalf of councilmen Paul Sharkady, Tim Bilsky and John Severine. The three protested the process by which council President John Bevec and Vice President Rich Russo were appointed to the board during January’s reorganization meeting.
They argued Mayor David Rhome should not have cast a tiebreaker vote to make those appointments, but O’Dell-Seneca said in her response that “the mayor is permitted to serve for purposes of that meeting as a member of council.”
The petitioners also argued that the requirement of an affidavit of residency was inconsistent because incumbent Sharkady was permitted to be sworn in, but newly elected councilman Severine was prohibited from doing so because his paperwork was incomplete. The quo warranto petition was filed to determine the legality of an individual’s right to hold office.
The court said language in the petition is “vague” and “does not expressly set forth any named council member which the petitioners are seeking to have removed, nor does it indicate any facts substantiating which, if any, council members are illegally serving.”
However, the court’s response acknowledged that Sharkady should not have been sworn in without a certificate of residency, yet “there is no legal reason for him to not serve as a council member at the present time.”
Vittone said he did not join the action because it was not a clear-cut quo warranto case, which is the only civil jurisdiction case that his office can accept.
“I’m not a policeman for the borough code,” Vittone said. “What they were asking for isn’t something that’s within my power to do.”