South Fayette commissioner resigns
South Fayette Commissioner Jessica Cardillo resigned earlier this month with only a few weeks remaining in her term.
Cardillo, who chose to not run for re-election this November, informed the board and township staff of her resignation in a letter dated Oct. 2, citing her change in residence as the reason.
“It has been my pleasure to serve the community,” Cardillo wrote in the short, hand-written letter.
During its workshop meeting Wednesday night, the board had to decide whether to fill Cardillo’s seat in the interim or leave the seat vacant until the start of the new year, at which point the winner of the November election would take over.
“I assume we’re not going to replace her for only a few months. That doesn’t make any sense, right?” board President Joseph Horowitz said.
The rest of the board agreed with Horowitz, electing to wait for the general election to replace Cardillo’s seat rather than appoint someone to only serve for three months.
On the November ticket for the open seat are Democrat Rebecca Sray and Republican Kelly Fritz.
Cardillo, a South Fayette High School graduate, became a board member in 2014 after beating out Marsha McFalls in the 2013 election.
The first two years of Cardillo’s term didn’t come without controversy. She was charged with insurance fraud in 2014 and was entered into a two-year Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in 2015 after pleading to a lesser charge. Cardillo was allowed to continue as commissioner because her admittance into the ARD program, according to state law.
Shortly following, she introduced a motion to censure then-fellow Commissioner Deron Gabriel after he requested the solicitor in private for legal opinions on Cardillo’s ability to serve and the plans at the Watson Institute. The motion passed without Gabriel’s knowledge, and he then sued the board, claiming they violated his civil rights.
The tension boiled over in an April meeting, in which Cardillo and Gabriel publicly scolded each other.
The board will make Cardillo’s resignation official at its Oct. 18 voting meeting.