Quincy Township supervisors clash over vacant seat as familiar name joins November race

After clashing over a candidate and briefly shouting at one another, Quincy Township's two appointed supervisors agreed last week to hear from people interested in filling the recently vacated third board seat through the end of the year.

A day later, the Franklin County Republican Committee chose the GOP candidate who will compete against the Democrats' chosen candidate in November for that seat's remaining four-year term. The candidate just so happens to be the same person one of the Quincy Township supervisors compared to the devil just the night before.

Township supervisors argue over appointment

Quincy Township supervisors Alan Peck and Lee Daywalt met publicly Tuesday last week for the first time since Steve Bakner resigned from the board Aug. 17, less than two years into a six-year term. They need to appoint someone to serve through the end of the year, after which the person elected in November will be sworn in to serve through the end of 2026.

They ultimately voted to accept resumes through Sept. 15 from individuals interested in being appointed to the vacant seat, and scheduled a special meeting for that day.

Read this for background: Turmoil envelopes Quincy Township amid battle of change vs. status quo

Daywalt and Peck have opposing philosophies on how to run the township, however, and they took a long, winding and bumpy path toward agreeing on how to approach filling the vacancy.

Peck first made a motion to appoint Nelson Egolf, a 65-year-old dairy farmer who is already expected to join the board in January. He beat Daywalt by a big margin in the Republican primary and secured the Democratic nomination in a write-in campaign.

Daywalt's silence killed the motion.

Instead, he read from emails he and Peck exchanged the week before regarding their priorities moving forward. While Daywalt wanted to write a social media post requesting resumes from people interested in being appointed, Peck said they should schedule an emergency executive session to first discuss filling three positions for which the township is violating state code by having empty.

Roadmaster, secretary/treasurer and right-to-know officer are among all but two township positions that are empty after employees resigned en mass this summer. The township office has been closed since Aug. 25 due to a lack of staff.

"So you're not worried about the will of the people and whether they already voted?" Peck said, pushing to appoint Egolf given his success in the primary.

Daywalt responded by naming several people he thinks would "make great supervisors," but gave no reason when Peck asked why none of them ran in the primary if they were interested in serving.

As the supervisors argued, someone in the audience made a suggestion for the four-month appointment: former supervisor Ed Wilson.

Daywalt and Peck's ensuing argument over Wilson turned into a shouting match.

Daywalt: "You think I'd align myself with (Wilson)? I'd sooner align myself with the devil!"

Peck: "You are obstructing the business of this township!"

Daywalt simply replied that he was not.

As the supervisors abruptly turned toward discussing the empty positions, a member of the audience asked if they could first "make a motion on resumes, at least."

Lee made the motion and, after a brief pause, Peck seconded. The audience applauded.

Franklin County GOP names Ed Wilson nominee for supervisor seat

About 24 hours after he became a topic at the Quincy Township meeting, the Franklin County Republican Committee voted to make Wilson the party's nominee for the vacant supervisor position in the general election on Nov. 7.

Wilson was up against Josh Peters, a former aide to Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Greencastle, said Fred Young III, committee chairman. Sixty votes were cast, but the committee does not reveal vote breakdowns, Young said.

Young — who was at the Quincy Township meeting Tuesday and offered clarification on the appointment process — said he is hopeful a reorganized board will help turn things around after several years of turmoil.

"Both (Wilson and Peters) were asked if they would be able to work with Alan Peck and, should he win, Nelson Egolf. They said, 'Absolutely yes.' I think that's really positive," Young said.

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After winning via a write-in campaign in 2015, Wilson served as supervisor until he resigned months before the end of his first term in 2021 after Kerry Bumbaugh, a supervisor for 30 years, was indicted for defrauding the township of $150,000. Wilson was among the whistleblowers, Young said.

"In that respect, he's a little more controversial."

More details revealed about theft

Quincy Township announced Aug. 25 that a routine audit showed money had been stolen from the utility account.

Jason Piatt, the township solicitor, said Tuesday that just over $300 was definitely taken, based on what is "detectable" so far. Four days earlier, Daywalt said a $50 bill was the only cash known to be missing at that time but accounting was still underway.

“The cash was short in the drawer and the tags (receipts showing the fund the money was credited to) that went with the cash, one for one, those were missing as well,” Piatt said.

Security footage revealed the suspect to be a since-fired employee who was hired about five weeks earlier, the solicitor said. The person is not being named here because they have not been charged.

It is likely the theft prevented a second vacancy on the board of supervisors.

Daywalt originally planned to resign with Bakner but was going to wait until Aug. 25. He revoked his resignation once the theft was discovered.

Franklin County Republican Committee makes other appointments

The county Republican committee also selected nominees for two other municipal vacancies.

Stacy Short will run in November to represent the Fourth Ward on Chambersburg Borough Council through the end of 2025. She was recently appointed to the seat, which was left open following the unexpected death of Larry Hemsley this May.

In Shippensburg, William Kussman III will run for the Borough Council seat from which Democrat Bruce Hockersmith recently resigned. A well-known borough official there for years, Hockersmith is moving to a retirement community outside the borough, Young said.

Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Quincy supervisors argue over vacant seat; more theft details shared