Pries Replacement Named
On Sept. 14, the Derry Township Board of Supervisors named, in a 3-1 vote, Todd Pagliarulo to fill the board vacancy created the departure of Mike Pries.
The swing vote was Marc Moyer, who had voted against Pagliarulo earlier. (See earlier story below.) For more details, see the Sept. 16 issue of The Sun.
This story was posted on Sept. 8...
On Sept. 8, nine days after Mike Pries left the Derry Township Board of Supervisors to become a Dauphin County commissioner, the board Pries left behind split in an effort to replace him.
Two of the remaining four supervisors, Kelly Fedeli and Chris Abruzzo, pushed to immediately name Todd Pagliarulo to the Pries post. Pagliarulo is a former supervisor and a veteran of local Republican politics with ties to many local groups including the Hershey Volunteer Fire Company and the Hershey entities. Pagliarulo is also the sole member of the township's "Vacancy Board," a fact that became key to the evening's debate.
"Given the time period we are in in the township, with the projects that we have on the docket in the very near future as well as the time left on Mr. Pries' unexpired term, a little over a year, as one board member I believe we should do what this township has done many times in its history and appoint the person who is currently serving on the Vacancy Board, and that is Todd Pagliarulo," said Fedeli.
But three votes were needed to make that happen.
And those votes weren't there.
The remaining two supervisors, Sandy Ballard and Marc Moyer, praised Pagliarulo, but expressed a desire to open up the process, if only for two weeks.
"I don't know who I would vote for. I might vote for Todd, but I would like to see all of the wonderful opportunities we have," said Ballard.
Ballard made a motion to advertise the position to the community and to meet in two weeks to make a decision. That motion failed on a 2-2 vote, Ballard and Moyer for, Fedeli and Abruzzo against.
Fedeli then made a motion to select Pagliarulo immediately. That motion failed on a 2-2 vote. Fedeli and Abruzzo for, Ballard and Moyer against.
The board will meet again on Tuesday, Sept. 14, when it may consider the issue again. The board has until Sept. 30 to name the new supervisor. If the board fails to do that by that date, the sole member of the Vacancy Board, Todd Pagliarulo, will be called upon to join the board to vote on a new supervisor, presumably breaking any tie.
By Dave Buffington
