Argall to help pick successor

The Pennsylvania Republican Party has released the names of 17 conferees who will gather Thursday in Schuylkill County to pick a candidate for the May 19 special election to fill the vacant 124th state House seat in the Pennsylvania Legislature.

The seat became available when state Rep. David Argall won a special election to fill the 29th state Senate seat held by the late Sen. James Rhoades.

One of the 17 conferees is a familiar name: None other than Sen. David Argall, who held the 124th House seat for the past 24 years.

Here's the full list of conferees:

Berks County:
Martha Bertolet
Sandra Christman
Ernest Comisac
David Hunsberger
Joseph Rudderow
Michael Stevens
Jason Valick

Schuylkill County:
Frances Adams
David Argall
Rudy Gherghel
Micah Gursky
John Halabura
Carole Miller
Tom Nickels
Nick Sanko
Adolph Slovik
Diane Thompson

Here's some background on the conference provided by the state GOP:

Due to the fact that this State House District is made up of more than one county, PA GOP Bylaws dictate that the State Party preside over the conferee meeting. Each of the counties that comprise the 124th House District, both Berks and Schuylkill counties, are represented by their respective number of allotted conferees based on the electoral results of last year's presidential race. Conferees must be registered Republican electors that reside in the 124th House District. County Party Bylaws dictates the counties' conferee selection processes.

During the conferee meeting, each candidate will have the opportunity to make a short presentation. After each candidate has an opportunity to be heard, the conferees will vote to nominate a candidate to fill our Party's position on the ballot. A nominated candidate must secure a majority plus one of the votes cast to earn the nomination. No proxies will be permitted at this meeting, and only conferees will be permitted to vote.

Any registered Republican, 21 years or older, who has resided in the 124th State House District for at least one year may seek the Party's nomination. All candidates interested in seeking the Party's nomination must contact Republican Party of Pennsylvania Political Director Chad Weaver by calling 717-234-4901, ext. 118 or by e-mailing cweaver@pagop.org

While there will be a Democratic candidate on the ballot, this is a heavily Republican district and the GOP nominee will probably end up winning the seat, especially with Argall's endorsement.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS