Tyrone Borough Council is scheduled to work on filling a vacancy in its ranks at tonight’s meeting.
This morning, an agenda posted on the municipal building’s door listed the item among other business scheduled before council at its 7 p.m. meeting.
The vacancy occurred when Sharon Dannaway was appointed as borough manager on Aug. 1. Dannaway had spent several months as interim borough manager and had taken a leave of absence from her council seat. If council had chosen someone else or if Dannaway had decided not to take the borough manager’s job beyond the “interim” status, she could have returned to her council seat.
However, council’s appointment of Dannaway as a “permanent” borough manager required her to resign her council seat. Dannaway’s appointment came more than a year after former manager Nathan George had been fired by the borough.
Last month, the borough sought candidates to fill the open seat by advertising for interested persons to submit a letter of interest.
The term for Dannaway’s former council seat is scheduled to run until the first Monday in January 2008. On Friday, Dannaway explained the person chosen by council would serve only until the end of the year as an appointee. Technically, the person would serve until the first Monday of 2006.
If the appointed council member wanted to serve beyond then they would be required to run for election in November for a two-year term. The borough’s home rule charter explains under section 41.3-307 that appointed council members have to run for “reelection” in the next general municipal election.
They would also have to be the person selected by a political party as that party’s candidate. Other parties are also allowed to submit a candidate’s name to be placed on the November ballot and there is the possibility of write-in votes as in any election.
Blair County’s Director of Elections Shirley Crowl explained that due to the timing of the latest vacancy, voters will actually be casting ballots for two different two-year unexpired terms in the November election.
The first two-year term was created when J.R. Watson resigned late last year and Don Boytim was appointed to his seat. Boytim ran in the May primary and won nomination to appear on the November ballot. Brian McManigal was to have appeared on the fall ballot after winning the Republican nomination for the two-year seat. However, he withdrew his name from the ballot in June citing health reasons.
Crowl explained the ballot would ask voters to choose two candidates for the two unexpired terms. The top two vote getters will win the two seats.
Crowl notified the Democratic and Republican parties of the vacancy and said it would be up to them to submit a candidate’s name through nomination certificates to be filed at the County Board of Elections not later than Sept. 19 during ordinary business hours at the elections office. Other political bodies (minor parties) may submit names through nomination papers by the same deadline.
If no party submits a candidate’s name by the Sept. 19 deadline then only Boytim’s name will appear on the ballot under the Democratic side. Crowl said in that instance, candidates would be free to run write-in campaigns to secure the other position.
Voters in Tyrone will also be choosing candidates for three four-year council seats in November.
