If State College Mayor Don Hahn is successful in his run this year for magisterial district judge, he will have to resign from his borough position with a significant amount of time left in his term.
Hahn has been mayor for just over a year, and the district judge election on Nov. 5 would occur roughly two years after he was elected to a four-year term.
If he is elected judge, the Borough Council will have 45 days from the start of the vacancy to reach a majority decision on the next mayor, according to the borough charter, said borough solicitor Terry Williams. If it cannot reach a majority, the vacancy will be determined by the Court of Common Pleas.
In this case, registered voters from the borough could petition the court and explain their eligibility for the position. The court would look at the qualification of the candidate, not their policy, said Williams.
“In my experience I have never seen the borough have to resort to a petition to the court to fill an elected office,” said Williams. He said that with seven members, the borough council can typically make a majority.
If the mayor post is vacated in the first 18 months of a four-year term, then the replacement would fill the seat until Jan. 1 of the next even year, with an election to be held to fill the seat in the prior November election.
If it is after the 18-month mark, the replacement would serve the remainder of the term.
This is not the first time a mayor would need to be replaced mid-term, though the circumstances are very different than the last time it happened. In 2009 the borough had to find a replacement after longtime Mayor Bill Welch passed away during his 15th year in the position.
Welsh died two months from Election Day and an election was held that November to fill the position. Felicia Lewis was appointed by council as interim mayor and Elizabeth Goreham, who would go on to serve two terms, won the November election.
Hahn beat out candidates Michael Black, Catherine Dauler and Janet Engeman in the 2017 Democratic primary and defeated Black and Ron Madrid in the general municipal election to become mayor. He announced on Feb. 5 his plans to run for the magisterial district judge seat, hoping to succeed Judge Carmine Prestia Jr., who will retire in January 2020.
Hahn is an attorney and founding member of Stover, McGlaughlin, Gerace, Weyandt & McCormick, P.C. He served for 12 years on the Middle District Bankruptcy Bar Association Board of Directors and one year as its president. He also received the Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Award in 2003 and 2013.
