Sep 8, 2019 3 min read

Monessen’s elected leaders are taking another shot at removing their no-show colleagues.

Good for them.

The absentee mayor and councilman means three council members govern the city. If one of them can’t make the meeting, no business gets done.

Mayor Matt Shorraw hasn’t come to a meeting since May 2018, five months after he was sworn into office. Councilman Gil Coles has missed regular meetings since February 2018, though he briefly showed up at a June 2018 emergency meeting to vote on the renewal of Monessen’s insurance policy.

He left after casting his vote and hasn’t returned since. That was nice of him, since his vote was necessary to keep the city’s emergency services active, but of no long-term help since he hasn’t come back.

The absences have “upended” the lives of council members who attend meetings, Deputy Mayor and Councilman Tony Orzechowski said, and should leave city residents “furious.”

So, he and council members Lois Thomas and David Feehan voted to ask for help.

They want Attorney General Josh Shapiro and/or Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck to file something called a quo warranto petition.

Latin for “by what warrant,” a quo warranto filing essentially challenges a public official’s right to hold office. Pennsylvania Code requires the petition be filed by either the district attorney in the municipality’s county or by the state attorney general. A judge would decide the merits.

It’s not the first shot taken to address the absences.

In June, a bill designed to provide provisions to oust elected municipal officials for neglecting their duties passed the state House and was referred to the Senate.

State Rep. Justin Walsh, R-Rostraver Township, said he authored the bill with Shorraw in mind.

While it hasn’t come up for a vote in the Senate, even if it sails through, it won’t provide immediate relief. Because the bill would amend the state Constitution, it has to pass the Legislature in two consecutive sessions – and then go to the state’s voters for approval.

By that time, we’d be close to 2021, which is the municipal election where Shorraw and Coles would have to run to keep their seats.

It’s a worthwhile bill nonetheless. Monessen isn’t the only municipality that has this kind of issue.

In the best case scenarios, those who find they can’t fulfill their elected duties do the right thing and resign. Sure, finding a replacement is a headache, but at least those left behind can look for someone who will show up and participate.

While Coles hasn’t commented publicly on his absences, Shorraw has been intermittently vocal, yet offered little in the way of substantial details.

The city’s website, revamped after Shorraw took office, includes a message from him on the homepage. He invites visitors to the city asks them to “help us build a new renaissance for Monessen.”

It’s a beautiful sentiment, made by a young mayor who ran on his belief that he could turn the city around.

The voters believed in him and he’s let them down. Both he and Coles need to go.