Kevin Hill Will Remain On May Primary Ballot

Following a ruling by Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court reversing an order by Washington County Court Judge Michael Lucas saying that an election petition challenge filed on behalf of current Republican Washington County Prothonotary Laura Hough was properly served to her republican challenger Kevin Hill, the matter was sent back to Lucas who issued his ruling Monday morning.  Lucas ruled that Hough’s request to reject Hill’s nominating petition and have him removed from the May Primary ballot has been denied.  Lucas ruled that Hill did not falsify information on his petition, nor did he attempt to mislead voters.  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.  Hough issued a statement following the ruling:  “Obviously, I am disappointed in the Court’s ruling. I am a firm believer that the Candidate Petition is the first tier of Election Integrity. As such, I pursued the avenue provided for by election law to have the Court review the petition in question. The candidate wrote that he is self-employed on his petition despite having stated under oath 3 weeks prior that he was unemployed. Transparency is essential for voters to be better informed about the election process.”