WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — After a few false starts, the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Monday finally selected a candidate to fill the seat left open by the mayor.
Rob Piligian was selected to take the commissioners' seat vacated by Mayor Joseph J. Marx Jr.
“I felt that it was my duty to serve the community, and that's why I put my name in.”New Whitehall Township Commissioner Rob Piligian
The road to get there was paved with several nominations that fell flat.
Marx narrowly defeated Republican Tina Jo Koren in the November 2023 election to become mayor. He had previously been president of the commissioners.
Piligian joins the commissioners after serving on the township’s planning committee since being appointed in 2000. He also has experience working on the traffic impact committee for at least 15 years.
“I felt that it was my duty to serve the community, and that's why I put my name in,” Piligian said after being sworn in.
Earlier attempts fail
While new to the position, Piligian already is focused on a few priorities for the future.
“We're facing some experienced staff retirements in the near future, and one of the things that I think the commissioners need to help the administration with is to find [a] suitable replacement,” Piligian said.
“Also, to enhance the existing facilities and Whitehall Township paths for our citizens.”
At the beginning of the meeting, three attempts to fill the vacant seat were unsuccessful.
“If we cannot come to anything tonight, this will be referred to the Court of Common Pleas in Lehigh County."Commissioners President Thomas Slonaker
When a member of the public challenged the board and said all members should be present for such a decision — members Randy Atiyeh and Alberta J. Scarfaro were not at the meeting — board President Thomas Slonaker explained the board was forced to decide within the next few days or the choice would no longer be its.
“If we cannot come to anything tonight, this will be referred to the Court of Common Pleas in Lehigh County," Slonaker said.
"And they'll appoint somebody ... whether they have to interview somebody or not. It'll be dependent upon which judge we get."
The board opted to take the agenda out of order and push the matter to the end of the meeting, when they further reviewed options and chose Piligian.
