State College has an open council seat after member resigns. Here’s how it will be filled
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- Council solicits letters of interest for vacant council seat.
- Council will hear candidate presentations on Feb. 9 and vote to appoint interim member.
- Candidates must be borough resident and voter; term runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
The State College borough council is accepting letters from residents who are interested in being appointed to fill a vacant seat on the council.
Council member Josh Portney submitted his resignation last week, and the council accepted his resignation during its meeting Monday evening. They now have 45 days to fill the vacancy.
The public can submit questions to the council to help with framing the candidate presentations, borough manager Tom Fountaine said. Questions need to be submitted by Jan. 26. Those interested in the vacancy have until Jan. 30 to submit their application and letter of interest.
Questions and letters of interest can be submitted online at www.statecollegepa.us/815/Interim-Councilmember-Vacancy.
The council will receive the information from interested candidates during their Feb. 2 meeting, where they will also finalize the presentation topics and questions for candidates to address.
Candidates will present to the council on Feb. 9, Fountaine said. Following the presentations, the council will discuss the candidates and vote on the appointment. The selected candidate will complete the remainder of the term, which expires Dec. 31, 2027.
The main requirement for candidates is that they are a resident of the borough, and are registered and qualified voters, Fountaine said. Names of the candidates will be posted on the borough’s website as they become available.
After presentations are completed, Fountaine said the council president will draw names of council members out of box. The random selection will provide the order that nominations are made.
“All six council members will be allowed to make a nomination, and then the votes will occur in the order that the nominations were made, and they will continue until four council members vote ‘yes’ to appoint one of those persons that have been selected,” he said.
Council bids farewell to Portney
A law student at Penn State, Portney was elected in 2023 and was the youngest person to be elected to borough council since the early 1970s. A few council members thanked Portney for his service on the council on Monday. Council member Nalini Krishnankutty and State College Mayor Ezra Nanes both said Portney’s perspective and involvement in the council and previously on other boards as a student is important.
“Somebody told me that when we’re having student nominations, if there’s somebody who comes in and who’s really engaged, then we want them. And I think you have been that engaged person. So I want to thank you for that,” Krishnankutty said. “And there have been times that you’ve had opinions that maybe were not the opinions of many people, and you’ve voiced them. And so I want to thank you for that too, and just wish you good luck, and we’ll miss your voice on this council.”
Others echoed those sentiments. Council member Gopal Balachandran said it’s important to question narratives and dominant viewpoints, and Portney did a lot of that. Council member Kevin Kassab said he’s been a great asset to the council and despite not always agreeing with each other, they’re still friends.
Portney said the decision to resign from the council was a difficult one to make, but he was offered a clerkship with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, something he’s been working for at law school. Being on the council is one of the most important things he’s done in his life, he said.
He said the “fun disagreements” and hearty debates they’ve had is good because it gets everyone to a place where questions are answered, people understand and are in agreement, and the public has the chance to hear the issues as well. Portney was an outspoken critic of the management of the Solar Power Purchase Agreement in Centre County and the legal fees attached to it, and butted heads with other elected officials about the project.
“Never stop asking questions, even if it’s annoying, because I was annoying, I know I was annoying, but never stop asking questions, because if you don’t understand it, there’s a good chance that somebody else on the other side of the dice doesn’t understand it too. And we’ve all got to have sunshine for all the issues,” Portney said. “So I really, really appreciate that, and keep fighting, everybody. You guys are doing great work.”
