Harrisville council fails to select new mayor
HARRISVILLE — The borough’s special meeting Monday evening, June 24, to name a permanent replacement for late Mayor Gary Hughes ended unsuccessfully.
Neither of the two residents who submitted letters of interest to succeed Hughes as mayor received votes from a majority of council members. This means the borough likely will not select a permanent replacement for Hughes in the 30-day window required by Pennsylvania law after his death June 1.
For now, council member Kathy Bray will continue to serve as acting mayor, and all of the current council members will remain in place, including acting council president John McFadden.
“I apologize that everything was not resolved tonight,” McFadden said.
Before Monday night’s meeting, the council received two letters of interest from Harrisville residents — longtime resident Bob Barnes and former Harrisville police officer Daniel Anschutz.
Barnes said he wanted to bring an end to the bickering which has defined local politics in Harrisville in recent years.
“I’ve been a resident in Harrisville for more years than many of you people have been alive,” Barnes said. “I love this town. I do not want to see this town go to pot. It really bothers me to come to meetings and see squabbling.”
Anschutz, who had been a police officer in Harrisville for more than a decade before retiring in 2019, said he wanted to continue to serve the borough.
“I’d like to continue to see young families move to this borough. It's a great community,” Anschutz said. “And I would like to continue that tradition with these young people.”
Anschutz indicated he would be willing to run for election if appointed mayor, while Barnes indicated he would step down after serving the remainder of Hughes’ term if he were appointed.
Hughes’ widow, council member Mary Ann Hughes, moved to select Barnes, but no other council member seconded.
“It’s not anything against either candidate,” Dave Evans said. “There’s nothing against either. They’re both good candidates.”
“Dan was a police officer here. He has 13 years’ experience,” Gary Wray said. “And the mayor's job is public safety, which would be over the police department. So that would make him more qualified.”
“I just think Bob would carry out the last two years and then we’d let the voters vote on the mayor,” Hughes said. “I think Bob would be excellent, and nothing’s going to change that.”
Shortly thereafter, Wray moved to select Anschutz, with Evans seconding and McFadden also voting yes. Council member April Anschutz, Daniel Anschutz’s wife, had to recuse herself from the voting. Because Mary Ann Hughes moved for Barnes, she voted nay for Anschutz, making the vote 3-1.
Council realized quorum could not be reached on the six-person board. After having stepped up from the council to become acting mayor, Bray could only cast a vote in the event of a tie, which this was not.
This meant neither candidate received a majority of votes from the council.
Barnes urged Hughes to flip her vote so the borough could settle the issue immediately, but she did not.
After a brief executive session, new borough solicitor Sean Gallagher of the Gallagher Law Group in Butler announced that, under Pennsylvania law, a special “vacancy board” would have to be created to fill the mayor’s seat. This would consist of the present six-person borough council, plus a seventh member from outside the council (who also isn’t the mayor) who will act as the board’s chairman.
“The vacancy board only exists whenever the council is unable to appoint someone to a vacancy,” Gallagher said.
By law, the vacancy board has 15 days to select a new mayor. Harrisville will try once again to select a replacement for Hughes at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 8. If that fails, the vacancy board will petition the Court of Common Pleas to select the next mayor.
