A resident’s petition seeking to keep a Republican state House candidate off of the primary election ballot in Centre County was withdrawn on Friday morning.
“Clearly, they realized that the facts were on my side, not theirs,” 82nd District candidate Justin Behrens wrote in an email to StateCollege.com
State College resident and registered Republican Kathryn Jeziorski filed the petition on Monday in Commonwealth Court challenging Behrens’ residency. It alleged that it was “uncertain if Mr. Behrens has, in fact, ever lived in Centre County or if he simply has a Centre County mailing and voter registration address.”
It also stated “on information and belief” that Behrens still resides and works in Luzerne County and alleges that he could not establish a year of residency within the 82nd district, as required by the Pennsylvania Constitution, before the Nov. 8 general election.
A hearing originally set for Thursday at the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg was rescheduled for Friday.
But before the hearing could take place, Jeziorski’s attorney, Kevin Greenberg, filed a praecipe to withdraw the petition.
“In light of the truncated window in this [election] cycle and the compacted schedule, we believe it is in the interest of justice to terminate this matter before the hearing,” Greenberg wrote.
Behrens called the claims “100% false” from the outset, saying earlier this week that his family decided to move to State College in June 2021 when his wife was offered a professorship at Penn State. Property records in Centre and Luzerne counties confirm Behrens purchased a State College home last June and the sale and deed transfer of his Wright Township home were completed in July.
He added that his children have attended State College Area School District schools since the start of the 2021-22 academic year and he provided dates for the hiring of professional movers, furniture purchases and veterinary appointments in State College last summer.
“This debacle was nothing more than a waste of taxpayer money and an attempt to besmirch my grassroots campaign,” Behrens said on Friday.
A U.S. Army veteran and social worker, Behrens resigned as chairman of the Luzerne County Republican Party on Dec. 3. He is CEO of Keystone Mission, a faith-based nonprofit serving the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas. He told the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader he would stay with his in-laws in Luzerne County when he commuted for work with Keystone Mission.
Behrens previously ran for the state House twice in Luzerne County.
He is the only Republican candidate for the 82nd district, while College Township councilman and Lemont resident Paul Takac is the only Democrat running.
The redrawn 82nd district is new to Centre County and has no incumbent. It includes parts of State College Borough, along with all of Benner, Boggs, Burnside, College, Curtin, Harris, Howard, Liberty, Marion, Union townships and Howard, Milesburg, Snow Shoe and Union boroughs.
Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania is on Tuesday, May 17.
