Vacant McCandless council seat filled

McCandless council has appointed an attorney and former entrepreneur to fill the vacant Ward 4 seat on council.

Town council voted unanimously July 13 to appoint David Smith to complete the remainder of Joan Powers’ term, which runs through 2021.

Powers, a Republican, resigned in early June because she is moving out of McCandless.

The town’s policy is to fill vacancies on council with people of the same political party. Smith also is a Republican.

Smith, who has lived in McCandless for 15 years, is a lawyer and currently works as an attorney editor and senior legal editor for the Tomson Reuters media company.

He also is the former owner of the Wexford Ale House on Route 19 and has served on the board of directors for Pittsburgh Cares.

The Ward 4 vacancy was one of three created in recent months by resignations.

In April, first-term Republican Councilman Bill Kirk resigned his seat as the Ward 2 representative to avoid potential conflicts of interest with his new job as head of project management for the North Allegheny School District.

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

In June, first-term Republican Councilman Chuck Mazur stepped down as the Ward 3 representative because of health reasons.

The town is accepting applicants through July 21 to fill the Ward 3 seat.