Apr 13, 2021 3 min read

Three Donegal supervisors are suing the Washington County Board of Elections in an attempt to invalidate the upcoming municipal primary after the township’s board was downsized from five members to three following a referendum last year.

The three supervisors – Richard Martin, Richard Fidler and Tammi M. Iams – argue that they were duly elected and each has multiple years remaining on their terms, so the requirement for them to run again in the May 18 primary could lead to them being “unconstitutionally removed” from office if they lose.

The township residents voted overwhelmingly in November to downsize the board from five supervisors to three, just four years after voting to expand the body.

Also named in the lawsuit are Kathleen W. Croft, a supervisor running for reelection as a Democrat, and Edward Shingle Jr., who is a sitting supervisor but was removed from the Republican primary ballot last month following a challenge to his nominating papers.

Three positions are currently open on the board after last November’s referendum, with descending terms that range from six to two years. Martin and Fidler are candidates in the Republican primary, while Iams and Croft are running on the Democratic side of the ballot. The lawsuit, filed Friday by Butler-based attorneys Thomas King III, Thomas Breth and Jordan Shuber, asks for a preliminary injunction to halt Donegal’s primary or invalidate the results in the supervisors race.

“Unless an injunction issues, an election will be conducted for Donegal Township Supervisor which will have no validity,” the lawsuit argues.

The lawsuit asks the county’s board of elections to enjoin their case and to withhold placing any supervisor candidate names on the municipal ballot in Donegal. If that does not happen, the lawsuit asks the board to refuse to certify Donegal’s election results for township supervisor.

Neither county solicitor Jana Grimm nor the plaintiffs’ attorneys could be reached for comment Monday.

This is the second time in less than 17 months that Martin, Fidler and Iams have targeted their supervisor colleagues. In November 2019, they also sued in an attempt to block Croft and Shingle from voting on agenda items as “lame-duck” supervisors, an action that was dismissed the following month by Judge Michael Lucas.

This year’s primary in Donegal has been filled with challenges to nominations, with four candidates getting removed from the ballot. Shingle and three other Republicans – Randy Poland, James Bauer and Chad Thomas – were removed from the ballot last month after a challenge to their nominating signatures. Croft’s nomination was also challenged, but she was permitted to remain on the ballot since she is running as a Democrat and those who questioned her nomination were registered Republicans.

Republicans Dave Ealy, Douglas Teagarden, Kathleen Miller and Mike Smith challenged 15 total petitions for a variety of races, including five people running for township supervisor.