Cusick: Vacancies in Elected Office Should Be Filled By Voters, Not Other Elected Officials

Richard "Bucky" Szulborski, Northampton County's Controller, was appointed by County Council in 2021 after Tony Bassil, the elected Controller, passed away. He was also appointed Controller in 2018, when Steve Barron resigned to become Executive Lamont McClure's fiscal director. I have high regard for Bucky.  The fact remains that for four of the past eight years, the county's fiscal watchdog has been selected by the very people he monitors. Should that change? County Council member John Cusick thinks so. At last week's meeting of County Council's governance committee, he suggested a change in the Home Rule Charter to ensure that vacancies are filled by elections as soon as possible. 

Under the Home Rule Charter, elected officials serve four-year terms. If an elected position becomes vacant, Council has the authority to appoint a replacement who serves until the next election. This has been construed to mean the next municipal election. 

Cusick maintains that appointments to vacancies in office should be as brief as possible so that voters, and not County Council, decide on who represents them. "I would rather see vacancies filled by a special election at the next election to be held, whether that be a general election or a primary ... . I don't want to see appointments for two years without someone facing the voters." He noted Council has made appointments for 23 and 27 months. "I think that's far too long to have an appointed person in an elected position."

Executive Lamont McClure said his office has done research on whether the county can conduct a special election for one of its vacant offices during an even year, which is when state and federal races are decided. He was unable to recall what was concluded but promised to forward that information to County Council. 

Council member Lori Vargo Heffner suggested that Council might want to avoid filling a vacancy in a Presidential, but Cusick disagreed. He noted that local referenda have been placed on the ballot during presidential races for things like open space. He said it might actually be a good thing to have many people weigh in on county government.