State College mayor selection will not be ‘democratic’ by design, says council
Several State College Borough Council members emphasized Monday night that the upcoming selection for mayor will not be “democratic” due to provisions in the Home Rule Charter.
There are 11 people who applied and qualified for the position of interim State College mayor following Mayor Don Hahn’s election to serve as magisterial district judge. Hahn’s resignation will officially go into effect at 5 p.m. Monday, and council aims to appoint an interim mayor at its regular 7 p.m. meeting that day.
Council President Evan Myers said that once council members are ready to start the nomination process, names will be drawn out of a hat. In the order that a council member’s name is drawn from the hat, that member will have a chance to nominate one of the 11 mayoral applicants.
But, Myers said, “they don’t have to nominate somebody ... no seconds are necessary.”
There could potentially be two nominees, or there could be seven — one for each member of council, he said. Council members may only nominate one applicant when their name is called.
Members of the public have asked for procedures that are more democratic, he said, but those are “not possible” under the Home Rule Charter as it exists. The only way to change the charter would be during a borough-wide referendum on an election year, he said.
“If the first person nominated receives the majority of votes ... they become the mayor and no other votes are taken. If that person does not receive the majority, we move to the next person,” he said.
The first person to receive a majority of votes from council will become the interim mayor. If no nominee receives a majority of votes, council will start the nomination process over again.
“It’s possible that after we’re done with seven people, no one has received a majority,” Myers said.
Council member Catherine Dauler asked that each nominee’s name be displayed on the big screen in the order they are nominated.
“One of the reasons this is so confusing is this is not what we would think of as a democratic election,” said council member Theresa Lafer. “... This is an appointment and it has both a different flavor to it and a different system to it. And for those of you who are uncomfortable because you’re still thinking this is an election, it is not an election, it is an appointment.”
Appointments are different, she said, because a vote isn’t taken for each applicant, and there may be multiple applicants council thinks are fit for the position. Council members might change their vote to be part of a majority based on the circumstances of the appointment process, she said.
The interim mayor will serve for two years, finishing the remainder of Hahn’s term. Though not required, members of council have expressed their desires that the interim appointee not run for mayor in the 2021 election.
Pat Vernon, a College Township resident, said that council should have selected a mayor based on the “second-place” candidate in the 2017 mayoral election, which would have been Michael Black. Black is an applicant for interim mayor. Vernon said it was a “shame” council was making a decision for the public when the public already decided.
But Myers said council is just “executing what the law is ... we would have rather had a special election. But that’s not what happened according to the law.”
Vernon urged council to change the process of selecting an interim mayor for the future. “You almost could wind up with someone who nobody really wants,” he said.
“This is going to be a difficult decision,” said Myers. “The folks that came forward, it’s humbling to sit up here and have all those folks with their experience and their commitment to the community ... it’s extraordinary, it talks to the strength of our community, the engagement of the folks that live here.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 6:05 PM.
.jpg)