Boyd moving on to new horizons in Harrisburg
Feb. 14—In 1925, George Weingartner, a Lawrence County commissioner, stepped down to accept a seat in the Pennsylvania Senate.
Now, 98 years later, Weingartner's 24-year-old great-great-grandson is following in his footsteps.
Morgan Boyd, chairman of the county commissioners, submitted his resignation from his elected position to all four Lawrence County judges on Monday, and announced his resignation and new plans at the commissioners meeting Tuesday.
Boyd has accepted a position as special assistant to the secretary of Community and Economic Development for the state of Pennsylvania, a position appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro. Boyd crossed party lines over the summer to endorse Shapiro, a Democrat, for governor.
Boyd's last day as a county commissioner will be March 10. He will assume his new duties in Harrisburg on March 13.
"It's a new position," Boyd said, adding that not all of his duties have been defined yet.
He anticipates that he will be managing special economic development projects assigned by the secretary, and overseeing the department's regional offices throughout the state.
"I'm honored and humbled by the confidence that Rick Siger (DCED secretary) and Gov. Shapiro have in me," Boyd said. "I'm looking forward to working with individuals across the state to help build a better commonwealth for all of our communities."
Lawrence County Common Pleas President Judge Dominick Motto said the entire board of four county common pleas judges will appoint someone by majority vote to replace Boyd as a commissioner, to serve for about eight months, filling the rest of his term which expires Dec. 31 this year.
The county will elect three new commissioners this year to take office in January.
"We are inviting anyone who would like to apply to do so," Motto said of the eight-month vacancy, with Feb. 28 as the cutoff date to receive letters of interest and resumes. They may be sent to the county board of judges, in care of Motto, before that date.
The appointee must be a registered Republican and must have been a registered Republican since Boyd was elected in Nov. 2019. The judges will review the applicants and conduct interviews, Motto said.
"We want to have time to decide on an appointment as close to March 10 as possible," he said.
The judges who will vote on the appointment will be Motto, J. Craig Cox, John W. Hodge and David H. Acker.
Boyd has been a commissioner for three years, having taken office in January, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
"Commissioner Boyd has served the county well, and we wish him luck in his new venture," Motto commented. "He was a very frugal commissioner, and he paid close attention to the finances of county government, and he was very good at being fiscally responsible."
Motto touted Boyd's great leadership, "especially through the period when we had to maneuver through COVID 19. I worked closely with him to make difficult decisions about how to run the courts and how he would run county government. He showed great leadership during that time."
"I'm proud of how our team helped navigate through COVID-19," Boyd said, emphasizing the cooperation between the county and agenciessuch as Lawrence County Community Action Partnership, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, United Way and other organizations, along with the local municipalities.
Boyd believes he achieved his biggest goal during the past three years, to bring the county's finances back into stability.
"When I took office on Jan. 6, 2020, (the county) didn't have enough money to make payroll without taking out a bank loan," he said. "Now, three years later, a large portion of our financial resources have been put in place by our financial team, which includes the three commissioners, county administrator Joe Venasco, Controller David Prestopine and Treasurer Richard L. Rapone.
"We're sitting on roughly $20 million in a combination of restricted and unrestricted funds," he said. He noted that while some of that is COVID relief money, a lot of it is sound fiscal management.
Boyd said he also is proud of the county working to attract a business park to the Stonecrest Golf Course on Route 18 in southern Lawrence County, in cooperation with Mohawk Area School District and New Beaver Borough.
The county during his term also has incorporated $108 million secured for transportation improvements in Lawrence County through its transportation improvement plan, by working with the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, he said.
His three years also have focused on blight reduction in the county, which has resulted in the elimination of all of the dilapidated housing that was in the county's repository.
The creation of Quaker Falls in Mahoning Township as a new county-owned recreation park also came to fruition during his term.
"There's still much work to be done," Boyd said, "but I know I'm leaving the county in a much better place than when I inherited it. It will be up to the next board commissioners to determine how best to deploy the county's war chest and select impactful projects that hopefully will continue to rebuild Lawrence County."
Boyd was sworn into office as a commissioner on Jan. 6, 2020, using the same Bible on which his great-great-grandfather took his oath as a commissioner in 1919.
Admitting some remorse at leaving, Boyd said, "I'm going to miss it. I couldn't have asked for a better way to cut my teeth. I'm very proud of the work I've done in the past three years, and I couldn't have asked for a better team.
"I'm incredibly thankful to the voters of Lawrence County for their faith in placing me in this position," he added. "I hope I've made them proud."
