5 days ago
Judge to pick Sunbury City Council appointment
SUNBURY — Who will become the newest Sunbury City Council member is officially in the hands of Northumberland County Judge Paige Rosini.
City officials petitioned the court to select a member of the public to serve until January, following deadlocked voting on an appointment Monday.
The four current council members voted 2-2 on candidates Victoria Rosancrans and Andrew Ramos, who both applied for the open seat.
Rosancrans and Ramos were also joined by James Brumbach, Andres Manresa and former Treasurer Kevin Troup in the list of applicants looking to fill a vacant seat until January.
The seat was left open when former Sunbury Councilwoman Lisa Martina resigned last month.
Martina was appointed to fill the city treasurer seat after Troup resigned his position in May. Martina ran for the position and won in May. She is the only candidate on the ballot this fall.
Solicitor Joel Wiest filed the petition Thursday and listed the names of all five candidates, but by law, Rosini can pick one of them or none of them. The judge can order city officials to once again try to fill the seat on their own, or she can name a person of her choice to fill the seat.
Rosini can decide on the seat when she deems fit.
Council members Jim Eister, Nate Savidge, John Barnhart, and Mayor Josh Brosious conducted a public interview of all five candidates before voting.
Brosious asked Ramos, who he defeated in May for the mayor's spot, Manresa and Rosancrans about previous elections they ran in and were defeated.
The mayor asked why council should appoint them when the public didn't elect them.
Rosancrans, who was defeated in two previous attempts at council, once by nine votes, said she was not concerned with the previous elections and is a resident of Sunbury who loves her city and will continue to try to improve the lives of all residents.
Ramos agreed and said he also ran with a vision of improving Sunbury, and that vision has not changed just because he lost.
Manresa, who also lost a previous bid for council, is currently the Democratic Party nominee in the race in November, when he squares off against Savidge and Troup for one of the two open seats.
The seat that was to be filled Monday night will also be on the ballot in a secondary election that would be for a two-year term to finish out Martina's seat.
Rosancrans was named the Democratic nominee for the ballot, while the Republican Party has yet to name a candidate.
Councilman John Barnhart nominated Rosancrans for the temporary seat and a vote was taken.
Eister and Savidge voted no, while Barnhart and Brosious voted in favor, but the motion failed.
Eister then nominated Ramos and another vote was taken. Eister and Savidge voted in favor of Ramos, while Barnhart and Brosious voted no.
Council meets again July 28 inside City Hall, on Market Street, in Sunbury.
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