State Sen. Jim Brewster sworn in after 2 months of legal wrangling over results

State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, was sworn in Wednesday morning to his third term serving the 45th Senate District.

Brewster, 72, took the oath from Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David Spurgeon in a brief ceremony in Harrisburg with no fanfare or objection — unlike the chaos that ensued last week when Senate Republicans blocked Brewster from being seated.

Both men are from the Mon Valley.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who presides over Pennsylvania’s Senate, led the session.

Following the administration of the oath, those in the chamber applauded.

The swearing-in came the day after a federal court judge dismissed a legal challenge by Brewster’s Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli, a New Kensington-based attorney who lives in Lower Burrell.

Certified results showed Brewster received 66,261 votes compared with Ziccarelli’s 66,192, a margin of 69 votes. The district includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

Ziccarelli objected to the counting of 311 undated mail-in ballots received in Allegheny County. In Westmoreland County, such ballots were not counted.

She challenged those ballots in Common Pleas Court, Commonwealth Court and the state Supreme Court.

At Pennsylvania’s highest appellate court, a majority ruled that those ballots should be counted.

Following that decision, Ziccarelli sought review by U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.

U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and took the bench in 2019, ruled that the undated ballots were valid.

About three hours later, Ziccarelli issued a statement saying that she accepted the court’s decision and would file no additional appeals.

Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, said the decision not to seat Brewster last week was to ensure that the election challenge was resolved properly.

She said Tuesday afternoon that she looked forward to Brewster’s swearing-in.

“Further, I am committed to working with both Republican and Democrats in examining the 2020 elections to see what worked and what we can do better to maximize confidence in our election process.”

Senate Democrats praised Ranjan’s decision.

Today, @SenatorBrewster will be sworn-in to his fourth term as the duly elected representative of the people of the 45th Senatorial District.

It's been a long-fought battle, but we're excited to have him with us in the PA Senate .

Watch the ceremony at https://t.co/QslNwJs0yh. pic.twitter.com/ejjQoCs16H

— PaSenateDems (@PaSenateDems) January 13, 2021

“He’s been declared the winner more times and in more ways than should be necessary, but I believe that the matter is now unequivocally settled,” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills.