Editorial: Kopas appointment as commissioner is understandable but was it the best choice?

Tribune-Review | Thursday, July 20, 2023 6:01 a.m.

Michael Divittorio | Tribune-Review

Democratic candidate Ted Kopas for Westmoreland County Commissioner was appointed to serve remaining term of Gina Cerilli Thrasher, who has resigned effective July 31.

On Monday, the 11 Westmoreland County Common Pleas judges gathered together and acted as a kind of jury, deliberating and delivering a verdict on a case in a way they normally don’t get to do.

The decision they reached wasn’t about guilt or innocence or a judgment with a big award for a plaintiff. They picked the person who will fill the seat of Gina Cerilli Thrasher, who is stepping down as a county commissioner as of July 31 to take a seat on the state’s worker’s compensation appeals board.

Five Democrats threw their hats in the ring to fill out the remaining five months of Thrasher’s term as the minority member of the board of commissioners. They included former Commissioners Ted Kopas and Tom Ceraso, Thrasher’s chief of staff Donald O’Brien, Arnold Councilman George Hawdon and Washington Symphony Orchestra general manager Adam J. Shaffer.

The judges opted to give the spot to Kopas.

The decision does make sense. Kopas has already won a spot on the November ballot for the commissioners’ race. In the general election, two Democrats and two Republicans face off in a battle for the three available seats. The top three vote-getters win, establishing which party gets control of the board.

Kopas is likely to make that cut. He didn’t just get the most votes among Democrats. His 24,660 votes were just shy of what incumbent Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew got together — 17,925 and 11,436 respectively.

But with the election just four months away, was it the best decision for the judges? For that matter, was it the best move for Kopas to apply?

Putting Kopas on the board takes him from being a challenger in November to being an incumbent. Is that an unfair advantage to the other nominee, Sydney Hovis?

Hovis didn’t step up as a potential replacement, meaning the judges didn’t put a thumb on the scale for one of the candidates over the other. That’s good. No one did anything wrong or unethical.

And it is only fair to point out questions here as we did the same with Republican committee endorsements of all county incumbents, including Kertes and Chew, earlier in the year.

The judge’s choice means that someone with experience will do the job until the newly elected board takes office in January. There will be continuity and the people will be served.

Still, there was an opportunity do make sure the work of that third commissioner was accomplished without the appearance of a de facto endorsement of one candidate. That isn’t what happened.