3rd McCandless council member resigns in as many months

A third member of McCandless Town Council has resigned in as many months.

First-term Councilman Chuck Mazur, who represents Ward 3, announced that he is stepping down for health reasons.

Mazur, a Republican, won the seat in November by defeating Democrat Deawna Marie Alfonsie, who ran unopposed for her party’s nomination in the 2019 spring primary.

Mazur, who has not held previous elected office, faced Alfonsie after winning the GOP nomination by knocking off first-term incumbent Steve Mertz. Mazur pulled in 84.95 percent of the vote in last year’s primary.

The town’s policy is to fill council vacancies with a person of the same political party as the member stepping down.

Applications to fill Mazur’s unexpired term as the Ward 3 representative, which runs through 2023, are available online and must be returned along with a resume, letter of interest — or both — by noon on July 21.

The items can be emailed to administration@townofmccandless.org or sent to Town of McCandless, 9955 Grubbs Road, Wexford, PA 15090.

The other two members of council who recently resigned also are Republicans.

In late April, Ward 2 Councilman Bill Kirk resigned from council to avoid any potential conflicts of interest with his new job for the North Allegheny School District.

Council appointed retired real estate executive Shelly Sponholz to fill the remainder of Kirk’s term, which runs through 2021.

Earlier this month, Councilwoman Joan Powers, who represents Ward 4, stepped down because she is moving out of McCandless.

McCandless is still taking applicants from Republicans in Ward 4 to complete the remainder of Powers’ term, which runs through 2021.

State law requires council to fill the seat within 45 days. If no appointment is made, 10 registered voters in the municipality can petition the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County to fill the vacancy.