Murrysville mayor loses lawsuit but retains seat through 2025
Share this post:
Murrysville Mayor Regis Synan can remain in office through 2025, a judge ruled Friday.
Common Pleas Court Judge Jim Silvis dismissed Synan’s lawsuit, filed in April, that sought to force the county election bureau to put the mayor’s race on the November ballot. Synan contended elections officials erred two years ago when they certified Synan’s victory for a four-year mayoral term following the 2021 general election.
Synan, a Republican, ran unopposed two years ago and sought to run again this spring when county election officials rejected his candidacy, claiming the seat was not scheduled to appear on this year’s ballot.
Following a brief hearing on Friday, Silvis issued a two paragraph order that ruled for the county but also affirmed Synan’s ongoing position as mayor.
“The election of plaintiff, Regis J. Synan, to a four-year term to the office of mayor of the municipality of Murrysville, with said term to begin on Jan. 3, 2022 and expire on Jan. 5, 2026, as previously certified by the Westmoreland County Election Bureau is hereby confirmed,” Silvis wrote.
Synan and county officials conceded that the election bureau erred in 2021. Murrysville’s home-rule charter lists the mayor’s position as a two-year term, said attorney Wes Long, who serves as Synan’s personal lawyer and Murrysville’s solicitor.
Long said the lawsuit was an attempt to comply with Murrysville’s charter that sets the mayor’s job as a two-year term.
“It is our opinion Mr. Synan should have a place on the municipal election ballot as a Republican candidate. He was the only candidate to present nomination petitions. The county set this chain of events in motion that caused this problem. Mr. Synan was denied the ability to appear on the ballot due to no fact on his own,” Long said.
Westmoreland County assistant solicitor Tim Andrews said that both the election bureau and Murrysville was at fault for the administrative error. Murrysville never notified county election officials this spring that the mayor’s position should appear on the ballot, Andrews said.
“He will remain mayor regardless of this case,” Andrews said.
After a series of issues that impacted elections in 2020 and 2021 Westmoreland County Commissioners fired then election bureau director JoAnn Sebastiani. Sebastiani has since filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the county in federal court claiming she was subjected to harassment and subjected to political coercion. The lawsuit is pending.