Westmoreland candidates face lawsuits that could boot them from primary ballot

Mar. 16—Several candidates for contested races in the May primary are facing challenges to be removed from the ballot because of perceived flaws in their nominating petitions.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Jim Silvis will hear the challenges at 11 a.m. Friday in the cases. Silvis is hearing the cases because Judge Harry Smail Jr. recused himself from presiding over election challenges because he is a candidate for a vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Foremost among the challenges is one filed by Westmoreland GOP Committee Chairman Bill Bretz, who contends two of the three candidates seeking to oust incumbent Republican Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew failed to submit required documentation to run for office. Bretz also is serving as Smail's campaign manager.

The Westmoreland County Republican Committee last month endorsed the reelection bids of Kertes and Chew.

According to the lawsuit, Bretz claims John Ventre and Paul Kosko, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 commissioners primary, did not file financial disclosures with the chief county clerk as part of the process mandated under the state's election code to run for public office.

Also facing potential removal from the May ballot is Republican Steven Felder, who is seeking to oust first-term incumbent Sheriff James Albert. The challenge against Felder claims his nomination petitions fell 11 valid signatures short of the required 250 he needed to qualify to appear as a candidate on the ballot.

Hempfield supervisors

The top two officials on the Hempfield board of supervisors are at odds over the upcoming election.

Vice Chairman Doug Weimer filed a lawsuit this week seeking to have Chairman George Reese removed from the Republican primary ballot in May, claiming the first-term officeholder failed to properly file a required financial disclosure with the township.

Reese and Weimer are Republicans.

According to Weimer's lawsuit, Reese brought his disclosure to the township offices after the close of business and directed a security officer to unlock a door and place the form on the Hempfield manager's desk. That late filing failed to meet state election law requirements, Weimer contends.

Reese, who is seeking his second six-year term, said Wednesday he will defend his actions Friday at the hearing.

"We did file everything," Reese said. "If people will see this as a problem with the board, so be it."

Two seats on Hempfield's five-member board of supervisors are up for election this year.

Six Republicans filed nomination petitions to participate in the spring primary for Hempfield supervisor.

A second lawsuit, filed by another Hempfield voter, seeks to remove environmental safety officer Michael Wolford from the supervisor's race.

That lawsuit alleges Wolford's candidacy violated the state's election code because he did not file his financial disclosure form with the township.

Wolford, a Republican, said he followed instructions he received from a county elections official and will fight his removal from the ballot.

"This is the first time I ever did something like this. Someone from the courthouse gave me the wrong information," Wolford said. "I am just a person trying to run in the election. It's a shame. People should be able to help people."

School board races

Two school board races could also be impacted by candidate challenges.

One of 10 candidates seeking five seats on the Norwin School Board is accused of filing defective nomination documents. School board member Alex Detschelt asked the judge to remove prospective candidate Nina Toten from the ballot. He claims Toten improperly used her married name on the official nomination documents but was registered to vote under her maiden name. He also claimed she did not file her required financial disclosure.

In Southmoreland School District, lawsuits were filed to remove two candidates from the Democratic ballot for school board. The legal filing claims nomination petitions for candidates John R. Eutsey and Richard Grabiak improperly had nomination petitions circulated by a Republican voter, Coroner Tim Carson.

Meanwhile, former Trafford Councilman Casey L. Shoub Sr. filed a lawsuit against the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau, claiming it erroneously rejected his campaign documents, and he wants a judge to order that his name appear on the Democratic primary ballot.

Shoub served six terms in office before he was defeated for reelection in November 2021. He was appointed to council in February 2022 after one of the candidates to whom he lost resigned. Shoub, in his lawsuit, contends Trafford failed to certify his seat as a two-year term and the county elections officials improperly denied his revised nomination documents seeking a four-year term.

County solicitor Melissa Guiddy declined to comment, and Trafford officials could not be reached for a response to the lawsuit.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .