Mar 17, 2015 5 min read

Facing a deadline to challenge a candidate’s right to appear on the ballot in the May 19 primary, citizens and one incumbent filed documents Tuesday in Washington County Court.

Colleen Quattro of Maple Avenue, Washington, a Republican, in a petition asked that Gary W. Hoover Sr., a resident of the Mon Valley community of Roscoe, be disqualified as the GOP candidate for Washington County clerk of courts, claiming his nominating petitions are defective.

Quattro said in court documents that Hoover’s nominating petition containing 107 signatures does not place voters on notice of which office Hoover is seeking and the year in which the election is being held. Quattro also claims that nine signatures on other nominating petitions are those of people who are not registered to vote. If the court throws out 116 signatures, Hoover would have fewer than the 250 signatures the law requires on nominating petitions for a person seeking countywide office.

Democrats seeking the clerk of courts office, where incumbent Barbara Gibbs has declined to run for a ninth, four-year term, are Kristin L. Marcy of Stockdale, who is now assistant clerk of courts, and Frank J. Scandale of Canonsburg, an insurance broker in Beaver County.

In the Taylorstown area magisterial district, Daniel S. Kovalan of Crane Road, Claysville, a Democrat, is challenging the nominating petition of David Talpas, a Lagonda Road resident who is seeking a Democratic nomination for district judge.

Kovalan claims Talpas’ Democratic nominating petitions include signatures of those who live outside the magisterial district; those who are not registered voters; those who are registered but have chosen not to affiliate with a political party; and those who are registered Republicans. If 33 signatures are subtracted from Talpas’ petitions, he lacks the required number of valid signatures, Kovalan claims. He also took Talpas to task, claiming the pages of his petitions are not consecutively numbered as required by the Pennsylvania Election Code.

Although minor judiciary candidates have the option of cross-filing, Talpas intends to run only the Democratic ticket. Incumbent District Judge Ethan Ward is running on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.

In the Cecil area magisterial district, Sharon and Alan DePaoli of North DePaoli Road and Jason Capps of Morganza Road are challenging the Republican nominating petitions of former police officer Mike Philips. The DePaolis, Capps and Roslyn Corton of Farm Valley Road filed challenges to the Republican nominating petitions of former state representative Jesse White.

The court documents claim that Philips’ and White’s petitions contain duplications of signatures that appear on the Republican nominating petitions of Traci McDonald-Kemp.

If the petition signatures in question are ruled not to be valid, Philips and White would lack the required number to have their names appear on Republican ballots.

The DePaolis, Capps and Corton also allege that the person circulating White’s petition lacks a witness of a signature by a notary.

All three candidates cross-filed for the district judge seat that has been vacant since Valarie Costanzo resigned her post to become a Washington County judge in January 2014.

In the Canon-McMillan School District, incumbent Director Manuel Pihakis, a Democrat who cross-filed, has challenged the nominating petitions of Clifford L. Newell, claiming that Newell on Feb. 12 changed his address associated with his voter registration from 101 Cynthia Drive, Chartiers Township, to that of his studio, Mirisciotti Photography, 333 W. Pike St., Canonsburg.

The incumbent alleges that Newell changed his address so he could run for school board in the Canonsburg region of Canon-McMillan, which includes the borough except for the 1st Ward, 4th District, which lies within the Cecil Township voting district. He also claims Newell failed to file a copy of his financial interests form, commonly known as an “ethics form,” with the school district by the March 10 deadline. Newell included the form with his nominating petitions filed at the Washington County elections office.

Pihakis alleges that even if the court allows Newell to retain his official voting address in Canonsburg, Newell, who also cross-filed, will still fall short living at that address for one year prior to the Nov. 3 general election.

President Judge Katherine B. Emery plans to hear Pihakis’ challenge at 2 p.m. Thursday in Courtroom No. 1.

In Washington, a group of Republicans are challenging the nominating petitions of incumbent Councilman Terry Faust while a group of Democrats filed an identical challenge to the nominating petitions of incumbent Councilman Ken Westcott.

They all state in court documents that attorneys acting on their behalf filed right-to-know requests with the city for Faust’s and Westcott’s statements of financial interest, but were told the forms had not been filed at city hall. Both candidates included the forms with the nominating petitions submitted to the elections office.

Republicans asking that Faust’s nominating petitions be set aside were Mary Bunner of East Wheeling Street; Dennis Deal of Lawrence Avenue; and Patrick Uram of the George Washington Hotel.

Democrats requesting that Westcott’s nominating petitions be set aside were Rebecca Fitzgerald of Maple Terrace and Georgianna Farkas of West Chestnut Street.