County Accountability to Taxpayers

The counties doth protest too much, we think!

Hamlet’s mother told her son that the actions she viewed just don’t seem believable. More than six centuries later, we have the same conclusion. The actions taken by local county officials seem to strain credulity that the leaders are serving the best interests of citizens and taxpayers.

CHESTER COUNTY
County Court Ruling Overturned

On Friday, February 10, PA Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon released her opinion on the appeal from 18 petitioners whose request of precinct recounts in the 2022 General Election had been denied by Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Sommer. Judge Fizzano Cannon overturned Judge Sommer’s ruling saying that he erred in applying the law in three different ways.

Additionally, Judge Fizzano Cannon stated that “the Board of Elections improperly certified the election results while the Petitions remained outstanding.” The county Board of Elections is comprised of three commissioners. At the certification meeting, it was only Commissioner Kichline who voted “No” to certification based on the fact that petitions for recount were outstanding. The other two county commissioners did not follow the law which they swore to uphold.

Why did the county fight so hard to stop a few precincts from being recounted to confirm the results of the election in those areas? Wouldn’t it be most prudent to just follow the law, conduct the recounts, and be done with the issue? By fighting the issue at the appellate level, we question their motives. 

It seems the county doth protest too much. 

* For more information on this story, please see the Delaware Valley Journal article.

DELAWARE COUNTY
Ordinance 2023-0001

Recently, the 5 member Delaware County Council passed an ordinance which amended the process by which it appoints minority members to the three person, bi-partisan Board of Elections. This board is responsible for oversight and management of the elections in Delaware County. However, according to local attorneys, Ordinance 2023-0001 completely violates Pennsylvania Election Law. 

Traditionally, the county council chooses a minority member for the Board of Elections from a list of three nominees provided by the chair of the minority party. However, the new ordinance essentially allows the county council to reject all nominees without a stated reason and appoint a minority board member of its own choosing.

Why is Delaware County Council trying to take complete control over the appointment of a minority board member which is required by PA law? It seems that one party rule is very important to these leaders, but why? Is that fair representation of the citizens of the county?

Once again, it seems the county doth protest too much!

* For additional information on this story, please see the Broad + Liberty article. 

BOTTOM LINE…

It seems that some county officials, and apparently some courts, have put politics above the law and the best interests of their constituency. Our elected officials take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and that of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

We, as taxpayers and citizens in these counties, want to trust in our leaders that they are transparent in their actions and show accountability. We want to believe that they put forth a good-faith effort to effectively manage our governmental operations in a lawful manner. However, we need to understand that few leaders and politicians are altruistic. When they take actions that seem to oppose common sense, we must ask why.

The counties doth protest too much, we think.