State College Borough Council on Monday formally accepted the resignation of one of its members and agreed on a process for selecting his replacement.
Josh Portney announced last week that he planned to resign from council effective at midnight on Tuesday. A Penn State Law student and the youngest member of council, he stepped down because he has accepted a clerkship with Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.
He was elected in 2023 and leaves with about two years remaining in his term.
Council has 45 days to select an interim member who will fill the vacancy until Jan. 1, 2028. If council were unable to fill the position by Feb. 27, the Court of Common Pleas could be petitioned to make the appointment.
The remaining six council members unanimously accepted a process for selecting a replacement, one that is similar to those used to fill other vacancies in recent years.
From Tuesday through 5 p.m. Jan. 30, interested candidates who are registered voters living in the borough will be able to submit letters of interest. Residents also will be able to submit possible interview questions for candidates to the borough through 5 p.m. on Jan. 26.
A page on the borough’s website for applicant submissions and interview questions, as well as information about the position, will be available beginning on Tuesday, Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said.
At its Feb. 2 meeting, council will receive information about individuals who have expressed interest in the position. It will also finalize presentation topics and questions for candidates to address. The candidate presentations and question-and-answer session is scheduled to occur at council’s Feb. 9 meeting.
Council members will then discuss the candidates and potentially make an appointment on Feb. 9, or if needed at a continued meeting on Feb. 10. Council members will be selected randomly to determine the order for nominating candidates, and after each member makes a nomination they will be voted on in that order.
The first candidate to receive a majority of yes votes will be appointed to the open seat and the process will end. If more time is needed, council may also consider a special meeting on Feb. 17, 24 or 26.
“We hope that folks in our community apply for this position… The more people that participate the better,” Council President Evan Myers said. “I’m sure there’s some folks out there that would like to lend their voices to what we do here on council and we welcome that.”
‘THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I’VE EVER DONE‘
Attending his final meeting as a council member on Monday night, Portney said the Commonwealth Court clerkship is “what I’ve been working for at law school,” but that leaving council was “a difficult decision,” one he had to make because judicial ethics would prevent him from holding elected office.
“This service has been really the most important thing that I’ve ever done in my life,” Portney said of his time on council. “Now I am doing something very, very important on Commonwealth Court, but this legislative body that I’ve been a part of for the last two years, I’ve been able to interface with local businesses, enhance local businesses, talk with voters, talk with people, meet people where they are on the street and talk to people and really figure out their problems and how government can help. Because government can help.
“And we’ve done a great job here. We haven’t always agreed. You know, it’s been fun. We’ve had some fun disagreements. Some really hardy debate. And that’s what’s good… I think that debate is good because… when you ask questions and you maybe are that outlier, you get us to a point where it’s better, because now we’re all in agreement and we all had conversations and we’ve all talked about things.”
In his two years in the position, Portney has perhaps most notably been a vocal critic of the now-imperiled intergovernmental Solar Power Purchase Agreement, at times clashing with other elected officials as he questioned how legal fees were handled and the overall viability of the project.
He’s also advocated for the continued oversight of the Centre Region Council of Governments’ Parks Capital Committee, and in 2024 got in a dustup with other council members over his remarks about possibly cutting back on full-time borough positions.
“Never stop asking questions, even if it’s annoying, because I was annoying,” Portney said. “I know I was annoying, but never stop asking questions because if you don’t understand it, there’s a good chance that somebody else on the other side of the dais doesn’t understand it, too. And we’ve all got to have sunshine for all the issues.”
Council member Nalini Krishnankutty said she appreciated the perspective Portney brought to council and his engagement with the community.
“A lot of times we talk about involvement of students in local government in the place that they call home and I think … council member Portney has been doing that and you’ve been doing that in multiple roles. Before running for office, you’ve been doing it on our [authorities, boards and commissions],” Krishnankutty said. “… There have been times that you’ve had opinions that maybe were not the opinions of many people and you’ve voiced them, and so I want to thank you for that, too.”
Added Mayor Ezra Nanes, “I valued having the perspective from campus in this chamber as well. I think that’s something really helpful to council and thinking about the important matters before us.”
Council member Gopal Balachandran credited Portney for his willingness to “question dominant viewpoints.”
“You’ve done a lot of that, and I think that’s actually a great service,” Balachandran said. “We always need people who are willing to question and consider things, so thank you so much. We’ll miss you.”
