HARRISBURG (AP) – A three judge Commonwealth Court panel says special elections to fill three vacancies in western PA House districts will be held together next month with partisan control of the chamber at stake. The judges sided with House Democrat Leader, Philadelphia County Rep. Joanna McClinton saying all three Allegheny County seats will be filled Feb. 7. The decision was a loss for Lancaster County Rep. Bryan Cutler, the House Republican Leader, who filed the lawsuit claiming Democrats only had 99 House members to the GOP’s 101 after one Democrat died after being reelected and two others resigned their posts after they won other offices. Cutler accused the court of ignoring basic math and prior law saying “instead of resolving a dispute where the answer was self-evident based on the numbers, the court took the path of least resistance and thereby weakened the foundations of our republic and faith in the rule of law.” McClinton’s press secretary called the decision “good news for the nearly 200,000 Allegheny County residents currently without representation in the state House.”
REP. JOANNA MCCLINTON
REP. BRYAN CUTLER