McDonough certified as GOP write-in winner for Donora mayor
The man likely to be Donora’s next mayor had exchanges with his two primary opponents during Thursday’s monthly borough council voting meeting.
On Friday, it was learned that businessman James “Jim” McDonough II had won the Republican nod as a write-in candidate, with 46 votes to 29 for Council Finance Chairman John S. Conger, with Council President Dennis A. Gutierrez not getting enough write-ins to qualify as a possible nominee.
Washington County Elections Director Larry Spahr said all results countywide have been certified except for a contest in North Franklin Township.
That was on top of his apparent Democratic victory. According to returns still listed as unofficial on the county election website, McDonough had 358 Democratic votes, Conger 313 and Gutierrez 35.
Unless there is a third-party, independent or write-in bid in the fall, that means McDonough likely will succeed retiring Donora Mayor Donald E. Pavelko.
McDonough came to Thursday’s meeting with questions regarding Gutierrez seeking reimbursement for legal fees and Conger circulating a campaign flier about continued cleanup of the Pine Alley Fill Site, also known as the incinerator site.
McDonough questioned why Gutierrez did not use the borough’s solicitor and state Rep. Justin Walsh for that deposition, done instead by Greensburg attorney William J. Wiker as part of the state ethics investigation of Council Vice President Jimmie B. Coulter.
“I could not,” Gutierrez said. “I consulted (the solicitor) first.”
Gutierrez’s motion to have the borough reimburse him for $612.50 in legal fees paid Wiker died for lack of a second.
McDonough then questioned how much the borough actually has spent so far on services related to a cleanup of the site sought by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
McDonough was given a paper by borough officials stating that the total was $7,417. He came back with the claim that he had “on good authority” that the total was more than $8,000.
That “good authority” as it turned out was a flier sent out to Donora voters by Conger. Councilwoman Dr. Karen Polkabla suggested it was not the first time that a figure had been exaggerated.
“There have been quite a few figures,” Conger said after the meeting. “I included the Retal figures, not only the borough’s.”
Retal PA LLC, which is developing a plastics packaging business in Donora, has chipped in to help pay for cleanup work since it was determined that one of its contractors dumped material at the incinerator site.
References to Pine Alley prompted McDonough to ask borough officials if from now on the incinerator site would be called the Pine Alley Fill Site.
Retal also is paying half of the $600 application fee the borough is forwarding to the Washington County Conservation District for an erosion control plan for the site, which was a dumping ground for 30 to 40 years, Conger said.
“It is clear over the hillside,” the council finance chairman said. “All of that is not clean fill and DEP wants it removed.”
In other business Thursday, council authorized purchase of an outdoor cast iron drinking fountain for Donner Park, to be bought with federal Community Development Block Grant money.
It authorized preparation of an ordinance to vacate Wilson Way between Charles and Weaver avenues.
It appointed Beau Stoioff and Edward Parquette to four-year terms on the borough planning commission and Edward “Sonny” Lawson to a six-year term on the borough’s Police Civil Service Commission.
It also voted not to allow AnRe Films to use Fifth Street Church to shoot a movie.
Councilwoman Marie Trozzo said a reason is the unsafe condition of the building.
Among other things, she said, “the steps are falling in.”
The borough is using the building for storage but there also are still stained glass windows there, Gutierrez said, not to mention an old organ.
Shawley reported that 10 permits were issued for code enforcement last month. Szakal said there were 22 reportable incidents for borough police, resulting in 20 arrests.
Conger announced that Flag Day ceremonies will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the memorial near the Stan Musial Bridge. Also announced in the evening’s agenda was the annual American Legion Poppy Day, to be held on Election Day, Nov. 7.