Still no vote on Magiske’s resignation

The supervisor first announced his intention to step down Nov. 19.

The carousel never stops turning.

That saying remains true when it comes to Forward Township Supervisor Dave Magiske’s continued attempt to resign.

Accepting his resignation was again on Monday’s agenda, and again it wasn’t accepted — just as it happened Jan. 24 when his second letter of resignation was submitted.

It might seem like deja vu because Magiske first attempted to resign in November.

Magiske submitted a letter to the township dated Nov. 19 that said it was effective immediately.

The regular board of supervisors meeting following his first letter would have been held Dec. 9, but it was canceled.

Supervisors did not meet again until Dec. 30, but that special meeting was scheduled to specifically pass a budget.

Magiske’s resignation was not discussed.

A vacancy board hearing to select Magiske’s replacement was initially scheduled to be held ahead of the township’s annual reorganization meeting Jan. 6, but the hearing was canceled after it was determined it would not have been in compliance with the process for selecting a replacement.

Township code can be com- plicated and confusing at times, and matters are even muddier because Chairman Tom DeRosa and Supervisor Dave Levdansky rarely see eye to eye on how business should be handled.

According to second class township code, a resignation has to be accepted by the majority vote of the board of supervisors. If it isn’t, it will take effect 45 days after the date it was submitted.

If DeRosa and Levdansky had accepted the resignation during the meeting Dec. 30, the 30-day clock for supervisors to fill that position would have started at that time.

Because a vote wasn’t taken at that meeting, according to the second class township code, Magiske’s first attempt to resign would have been accepted regardless of a vote on Jan. 3, which is 45 days after it was submitted.

However, to the surprise of many, Magiske was present at the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting and announced he had rescinded his resignation before it was formally accepted.

Supervisors reconvened that meeting Jan. 24, when Magiske’s resignation was again on the agenda.

Levdansky was not present at that meeting, so a vote wasn’t taken to accept Magiske’s resignation, starting the process that began in November over again.

Since Magiske first tried to step away for health reasons, there has been an impasse to accept his resignation and begin the process to fill the vacancy.

It comes down to DeRosa and Levdansky disagreeing on who the replacement should be and how it should be handled.

DeRosa has expressed support for long-time resident Amy Cline to take Magiske’s place.

Levdansky has said that while he does not have a problem with that selection, he would not agree to appoint her without opening up the process to other residents who might be interested.

State law does not require formal solicitation of candidates for a vacancy through a public notice, but resident Jayme Stoffer first submitted an initial letter of interest to fill the spot in December after learning Magiske had stepped away. Though Cline had not submitted a letter of interest officially, she made her intent clear at past meetings.

After Magiske rescinded his resignation ahead of the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting, it became a moot point until it was again brought up Jan. 24.

At that meeting, when DeRosa was asked to clarify if Magiske had stepped away, he told the audience Magiske would not resign until it was accepted by vote.

Magiske confirmed that, and again attended Monday’s meeting, where he sat as an acting supervisor alongside DeRosa and Levdansky.

His resignation was the first official item up for discussion under new business. Before making a motion, DeRosa asked Levdansky directly if he would take a vote.

“Are you willing to accept Dave’s resignation,” he asked. “You said you would do it if we took resumes. So I am willing to do resumes if that is what you want.”

Stoffer and Cline’s resumes were both printed and made available to the public.

“So, are you willing to do it (accept Magiske’s resignation)?” DeRosa asked.

Levdansky remained silent.

“Did you hear me?” DeRosa asked.

“I hear you,” Levdansky replied. “Are you going to answer?” DeRosa asked.

“I hear you,” Levdansky responded again.

There was another brief moment of silence.

“There’s no motion, I am just asking if he is willing to do it,” DeRosa said.

Levdansky then took the floor to respond.

“I provided just about everybody here, I had 35 copies of a statement I handed out, that question is answered in that statement,” Levdansky said.

Members of the audience began to interject, with Levdansky acknowledging there were not enough copies of the statement for everyone in attendance.

Resident and former supervisor Tom Headley said it’s a simple question.

“It’s an answer yes or no, Dave, it’s that simple,” Headley said. “It’s either-or. Say no or say yes.”

Levdansky asked if DeRosa had a copy of the statement he provided.

“He asked you a question, he did not ask you about a statement,” Headley said.

“Tom, if you read the statement, you will have an answer,” Levdansky said.

“Well why don’t you read your statement, the part that you are referring to?” Headley said.

It again became quiet before Magiske turned to Levdansky to ask if he would accept his resignation or not.

Levdansky again did not respond. “We can sit here all night,” DeRosa said. “If you get tired you can leave, but I will sit here until midnight.”

“This township can’t operate like this,” Magiske said. “It’s a simple question. Do you? Or do you not? You (the township) can’t operate if the three of us can’t communicate. You can’t do it.”

After a few more moments of silence, DeRosa made a motion to accept Magiske’s resignation, but there was no second and DeRosa eventually moved on to another matter of new business on the agenda to appoint Phil Shushnar to the ambulance board.

That motion was approved by a 2-1 margin, with Levdansky voting no.

Business circled back to the resignation, but it eventually died for lack of a second because Magiske was not able to second or vote on a matter directly involving himself.

“I don’t know what’s in this,” DeRosa said referring to Levdansky’s statement. “I probably won’t even read it. I have read enough lies in the last few months to last me a lifetime.”

The answer in Levdansky’s statement, which is more than three pages long, is somewhat complex.

“Rather than insisting on using the appoint process to confer a political advantage to any candidate, I propose appointed a qualified person an interim basis to serve out the remainder of Magiske’s term (Dec. 31, 2025) and who commits publicly that they will not be a candidate for the office in this year’s election,” the statement reads. “With this compromise solution, no political advantage is given to DeRosa’s or my preferred candidate. This way the voters of Forward Township choose Magiske’s successor, not the supervisors.”

Under second class township code, DeRosa and Levdansky have until Feb. 23 to vote to accept Magiske’s resignation.

If they don’t, the resignation letter signed and submitted Jan. 24 will become official after 45 days. That means it will take effect March 9 unless Magiske rescinds it again.

Until that point, Magiske has the capacity to continue to serve as a supervisor if he chooses, despite his resignation stating it took effect immediately.

If it is not accepted by vote, supervisors again have 30 days beginning March 10 — the next scheduled regular meeting — to appoint someone to fill the seat.

If they are unable to come to an agreement within 30 days, the vacancy board will be called in to make a decision.

The vacancy board then has 15 days to determine on who to appoint.

Failure to reach a decision means a judge will make the appointment.

“I am choosing the course allowed and provided for in the law,” Levdansky said in his statement.

Following Monday’s meeting, which was adjourned before other listed new businesses was discussed, Magiske said he plans to remain in his role until his resignation is accepted by vote or by default according to code.

He said he does not plan to rescind it a second time.

DeRosa said there are no special meetings planned to further discuss the matter, adding he does not plan to be present at the March meeting.

“I won’t be back until April,” DeRosa said.