No Kreskini
One thing’s for sure about Bill DeWeese. He’s no Kreskin.
While Kreskin is known far and wide for his abilities to predict the future, DeWeese certainly has come up short in that department, particularly in regards to his current legal troubles.
First, the veteran Greene County lawmaker told everyone in earshot that he would never be indicted by then-Attorney General Tom Corbett. Wrong.
Then, he assured all of his supporters that the charges wouldn’t stick, maintaining they’d be dismissed at his preliminary hearing. Wrong.
Finally, he vowed that he would be vindicated at his trial. Wrong, again.
So, the question now is why should anyone believe DeWeese when he maintains that his conviction will somehow be overturned before the November election, allowing him to serve a 19th term in the state House of Representatives?
Never mind that DeWeese’s request for his sentencing to be delayed until the November election has little if any chance of being granted.
Never mind that no major legal issues were raised at his trial, which could possibly result in his conviction being overturned.
Never mind that the appeals process usually takes at least a year and won’t in all probability be decided before the November election.
As usual though, DeWeese was disregarding logic and reason this past week in touting a Commonwealth Court ruling allowing him to remain on the ballot in the spring primary.
Travis Barkley of Greensboro had filed a challenge to DeWeese’s nominating petition, claiming he was ineligible to run since he was convicted in February of theft, conflict of interest and conspiracy charges for using taxpayers’ resources for his re-election campaign.
However, the court ruled that DeWeese can run because his conviction won’t be official until his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 24, the date of the primary election.
But the reality is that once DeWeese is sentenced, he’ll have to step down, and he’s already agreed to do that.
However, he’ll be able to stay on the ballot for the November general election even if he’s in prison by then. And if he wins that election, which certainly is a possibility, he still wouldn’t be able to serve unless by some miracle his conviction is overturned by then.
DeWeese maintains that the people who signed his nomination petition want him to pursue every legal option available to him and will back him every step of the way.
But you have to wonder how many people signed those petitions before DeWeese’s conviction and if they were aware of all the ramifications.
For one, there’s a good chance that if DeWeese is sentenced as expected on April 24 and steps down, the 50th district won’t have a representative for the rest of the year.
You also have to think that come November if DeWeese is in prison and unable to campaign, that the Republican candidate could come away with a victory.
And if DeWeese wins and his conviction isn’t overturned, then a special election will have to be held next year with the seat in the 50th district remaining vacant until then.
The situation could have been resolved if someone had challenged DeWeese and beat him in the Democratic Party primary. Then all DeWeese’s legal maneuvers would have been rendered moot.
It’s hard to figure why no Democrats decided to run against DeWeese. He was able to win re-election two years ago despite being indicted, but it would have been much tougher for DeWeese to win re-election after being convicted. At least you’d like to think that. Maybe someone calculated it would be easier to win the seat by appointment rather than by outright defeating DeWeese at the polls. If that’s the case then shame on that candidate.
The right thing for DeWeese to do would have been to resign right after being convicted.
Then, a special election for the remainder of his term could have been held in conjunction with the regular election for the next two years.
That’s what happened last year when U.S. State Rep. John Murtha died. The 50th district seat would have been vacant for three months but at least it would have been filled for the last seven months of 2012.
DeWeese could still resign, allowing Democratic Party officials in the 50th district, which includes all of Greene and parts of Fayette and Washington counties, to pick a candidate to run in the fall election.
But that sure doesn’t seem likely with DeWeese vowing to pursue a legal fight to the bitter end.
Like many times during his career, DeWeese has chosen to put his own interests ahead of those he was elected to represent.
By stepping down he could have made sure that residents in the 50th district would have a continued voice in the affairs of the state House and virtually guaranteed that a fellow Democrat would have succeeded him. There could have been an orderly plan in place to pick his successor.
Instead, there’s nothing but confusion and chaos as election officials try to unravel a situation never seen before in the history of Pennsylvania politics.
While somehow that seems like a fitting end to DeWeese’s career, maybe from now on, let’s hope that residents of the 50th district won’t be so quick to believe his outlandish predictions in the future.