Last night’s Commission Discussion Session was a revelation. I learned that there is nothing in the Home Rule Charter to protect us from electing commissioners with a criminal record.
Section 305. Qualifications of Commissioners
At the time of election or appointment, a Commissioner shall be a citizen of the United States, shall be at least twenty-five (25) years of age, shall have been a registered voter in the Municipality for at least two (2) years immediately prior to election, and shall be a bona fide resident of the ward from which elected.
The Commissioners recommended that we do our homework before we cast our votes. The disturbing part of this statement is that voters in Wards 2, 3, 4, and 5 are counting on the voters in Ward 1, for example, to do their research. Once elected, the Home Rule Charter states:
Section 306. Authority
All Commission authority shall be asserted by the Commissioners as a body only.
In simpler terms, what happens in Ward 1 doesn’t stay in Ward 1. Whew! Talk about pressure!!!
So, how do we do our homework? Google? Criminal records don’t show up using Google. For magisterial dockets, one must search here: http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJ.aspx
For Criminal Courts of Common Pleas dockets: http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CP.aspx
Appellate Courts:
But we are advised that, “Docket sheet information should not be used in place of a criminal history background check.”
Now what? Who is responsible for running a criminal history background check? The parties? Clearly, that didn’t happen. Should there be something in the Home Rule Charter that the individual must be able to pass a criminal history background check? If so, how long? Five years? Ten years? What convictions are acceptable?
The bottom line is that we must be mindful of all candidates running. Once elected, they govern all of us, regardless of ward.
