Commonwealth Court Issues Ruling On Hough Challenge

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled that an election petition challenge filed on behalf of current Washington County Prothonotary Laura Hough was properly served to her republican challenger Kevin Hill and as a result, has reversed an order by Washington County Judge Michael Lucas.  The matter has now been sent back to Judge Lucas who is expected to issue a ruling within the next week or so.  The challenge that Hough filed against Hill involved him writing in his candidacy filing that he was “self-employed” despite a previous statement earlier this year that he was unemployed. Hill, of Mt. Pleasant Township, testified at a March 21st hearing challenging his candidacy, that he was self-employed on the date he filed his paperwork because he had recently started selling his sports memorabilia collection on an online auction site.  Lucas though, dismissed Hough’s challenge because he determined that Hill was never personally served information notifying him of the date and time of the hearing, as required by Senior Judge Katherine Emery’s order.