DeWeese running alone on Democratic ticket
State Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, won’t have any opposition in seeking his party’s nomination for the 50th Legislative District in the April 24 primary, provided he remains on the ballot.
Although no other Democrats other than DeWeese have filed to run for their party’s nomination in the 50th Legislative District, two Republicans, Mark Fischer and George Toothman, both of Waynesburg, are each seeking their party’s nomination.
Fischer is a Waynesburg native and current borough councilman who spent most of his career working in public safety in Florida and for a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., before returning to Greene County.
Toothman is the son of Common Pleas Court Judge Farley Toothman.
Feb. 16 marked the filing deadline with the Department of State for nomination petitions for anyone seeking party nominations for positions in the state general assembly.
Whether or not DeWeese will remain on the ballot remains to be seen. Travis Barkley of Greensboro plans to stand in Commonwealth Court later this month and argue that DeWeese should not be allowed to run for re-election because he has been convicted of felony charges.
A Dauphin County jury recently convicted DeWeese of theft, conflict of interest and conspiracy charges for using taxpayers’ resources for election campaigns. The court scheduled a hearing in Harrisburg on Barkley’s challenge to DeWeese’s nominating petition for 10 a.m. Feb. 29.
Under the state Constitution, DeWeese cannot serve once convicted of a crime that is deemed infamous, a designation previously given to a felony.
Although he was found guilty, the Legislature doesn’t consider a conviction to occur until sentencing. Ironically, sentencing for DeWeese is slated for the day of the general primary.
Barkley, a one-time Republican candidate for Greene County commissioner who is now a Democrat, said he is challenging the affidavit in DeWeese’s petition that states he is eligible to run for office.
He is also challenging DeWeese’s public claims that his conviction doesn’t become official until he is sentenced.
Barkley said he believes the state constitutional ban against people convicted of felonies serving in the Legislature takes affect upon conviction.
Challenges to nominating petitions of a Legislative candidate must come from a registered voter in the candidate’s political party and district, and must be filed in Commonwealth Court by Feb. 23, according to the Department of State, which oversees state elections.
Barkley said he plans to argue his case in court himself. He also filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to find DeWeese ineligible for re-election.