Step down now
Former state representative Bill DeWeese is back in the news with word that the state Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit to force him to withdraw from the upcoming Nov. 6 general election.
DeWeese, 62, of Waynesburg resigned the seat he held for three decades shortly before he was sentenced to prison last spring. He’s serving a two and a half to five-year sentence for election fraud.
DeWeese remains on the ballot, though, having won the primary election last spring when he ran unchallenged. However, since he’s a convicted felon, DeWeese won’t be able to serve even if he wins the election.
Commonwealth Court will hear arguments in the case on Aug. 8 and will have to make a decision by Aug. 13, the last day for candidates to withdraw or be stricken from the ballot.
If DeWeese is removed, party officials would have until Aug. 23 to appoint a replacement.
It should be an interesting hearing as everyone agrees this case is unprecedented in the annals of the state’s political history.
The situation could have been avoided if DeWeese had resigned when he was convicted last winter. Voters in the 50th legislative district, which includes all of Fayette and parts of Greene and Washington counties, would have had two elections last spring. There would have been a special election to fill DeWeese’s seat for the remainder of the year and the regular election for the two-year term.
But DeWeese foiled those plans. He not only decided to keep his seat, but ran for another two-year term. And now he’s given no indication that he’ll step down, apparently determined to fight a legal battle so he can remain on the ballot.
DeWeese’s only real hope is that somehow his conviction will be overturned by the end of the year and he can be seated in the general assembly next January, provided he prevails in the November general election.
While it’s possible he could win in November, given his unlimited ability to sway voters in the 50th district, it’s going to be virtually impossible for his appeal to be decided, never mind overturned, before January.
In fact, arguments for the appeal won’t be heard before Dauphin County President Judge Todd Hoover until Sept. 12. That could be the first of several hearings to be held concerning the appeal, to say nothing of the numerous court documents that will have to filed before an opinion can be rendered.
To think that it can all be done by the end of the year is a pipedream that only DeWeese thinks has a chance of becoming reality.
No longer content to watch this nightmare from the sidelines, leaders of the state Democratic Party, undoubtedly worried about losing a seat they’ve held for decades, are now stepping in and trying to throw DeWeese forcibly off the ballot.
The shame of it is that DeWeese hasn’t give up his pipedream and put the interests of voters in the 50th legislative district above his own. It’s also sad that DeWeese’s friends and political allies have been either unwilling or unable to convince him to step down for the good of his former constituents.
But such self-serving actions are nothing new for DeWeese and are at least part of the reason why he’s in prison today. Because he refused to step down after being convicted, residents of the 50th district will have no representation in Harrisburg until at least the end of the year.
And if DeWeese wins in November but can’t serve, it’s quite possible that residents of the 50th district won’t have any representation until an election can be held next spring.
So, the 50th district could very well go unrepresented for a year, solely because of DeWeese’s arrogance and stubborness.
It’s time for DeWeese to finally do the right thing and withdraw from the general election. It’s time he gives a fellow party member a legitimate chance of keeping the seat in the hands of the Democratic Party.
It’s time for DeWeese to think of what’s best for others, not just himself.