DeWeese ripped
Wither the 50th?
After weeks of speculation, state House Speaker Rep. Sam Smith announced last Friday that there would be no special election to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, who resigned hours before he was sentenced for a felony involving election fraud.
Smith determined that a special election was “not warranted at this time” after consulting with county commissioners in the district, which includes all of Greene County and portions of Fayette and Washington counties. The decision means that the thousands of voters that make up the 50th will be without representation for the next seven months.
The decision came down to a simple calculation, Smith said.
“Keeping in mind that the main legislation of the year, enacting a state budget, would be complete before an election could even be held, that the earliest date for an election is sometime in July with a possible August swearing in and the reality of only three months left in filling the vacancy, holding an election does not seem the most efficient use of tax dollars,” Smith said.
Considering that a special election could run taxpayers upwards of $150,000, it’s hard to argue with the logic there. To have someone to send to Harrisburg after the budget was determined and just in time for summer recess and then a month or two of session before everyone heads home to campaign just doesn’t seem worth it. And that’s not even considering the thought of the low turnout a July election would generate.
So the best course of action isn’t necessarily an attractive one: Leaving the seat vacant.
Of course, it didn’t have to be this way.
DeWeese, 62, who had served in the House since winning a special election in 1976, was convicted in February for using public resources for campaigns. He received a prison term of 2 1/2 to 5 years and was ordered to pay $25,000 in fines and nearly $117,000 in restitution. If he had decided to step down when he was found guilty in the early part of the year, there would’ve been time to hold a special election as part of the April 24 primary, and the vacancy would have already been filled.
However, since DeWeese decided not to step down until he was sentenced, residents of the 50th district will be denied representation in the state legislature for at least the rest of the year.
For reasons known only to him, DeWeese decided to stick it out until the last possible moment — and in doing so stick it to the voters of the 50th that he so often says he cares about. Well, it’s hard not to see the proof in the pudding here. The only person DeWeese cares about is himself. It’s hard to take any other message from his decision.
Of course, there’s still time for him to make matters worse. As it stands now, DeWeese is scheduled to report to prison Tuesday, meaning he’ll have to campaign from behind bars. That’s certain to be embarrassing not only to DeWeese but to all residents of the 50th district. His attorney is trying to have him freed on bond, pending his appeals, but the final decision on the matter will be up to the judge who presided over his trial.
At any rate, DeWeese’s name will remain on the November ballot unless he withdraws before August.
If he doesn’t remove himself from the ballot and goes on to win in November yet has not had his conviction overturned — both a very real possibility — then he would be deemed unfit to hold office and a special election to fill the seat would be needed.
The most likely scenario would have the special election being held as part of the spring primary next May, meaning that residents in the 50th district would be without representation for over a year.
DeWeese, of course, is spinning this situation six ways from Sunday. His attorney hopes to have the conviction overturned by January when the new House is sworn in.
That could happen, sure. But that doesn’t make it likely. And so the voters of the 50th are set to become invisible for most of the year so DeWeese can heave a long-shot Hail Mary attempt at keeping his seat.
It all reeks of a man desperate to hold onto power — a man who isn’t afraid to step all over the people he claims to represent to do it.