Oklahoma Borough looking for new mayor, council member

Elected officials come and go in small towns, where most serve in an unpaid and part-time capacity, but it’s not often that a mayor steps down and leaves council to appoint a replacement.

Oklahoma Borough Council will be doing just that following the departure of two-and-a-half-term Mayor Don Emerick. His wife, Councilwoman Christine Emerick, also resigned.

The couple has moved out of the borough, according to officials. Their landline had been disconnected when TribLive called Thursday.

Council is accepting applicants for both positions until Tuesday, July 30, with a meeting to vote on replacements scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 5. Candidates are expected to introduce themselves at the meeting.

Appointees will serve through 2025, unless they choose to seek election and win.

It will be hard to replicate Don and Christine Emerick’s more than two decades of combined experience leading the borough. Don Emerick served as mayor from 2014 until his resignation in July. Christine Emerick held a council seat from 2009 to 2021, and again from late 2022 until stepping down along with her husband.

Borough Secretary Alecia Sherbondy lauded the former mayor’s work as a liaison to Pennsylvania State Police, which covers the borough’s roughly 800 residents. According to Sherbondy, Christine Emerick was Oklahoma Borough’s finance czar, playing a key part in drafting budgets each year while keeping taxes low. She also helped secure state and local Fiscal Recovery Funds during the pandemic.

“Both Don and Christine were great to work with over the years,” Sherbondy said.

Council President Joe Cali also was complementary of their time in office, and, in particular, Christine Emerick’s fiscal chops.

“Anytime we had a question with finance, Christine would have an answer,” Cali said. “I appreciated her input, because you don’t want to make a mistake on finance.”

While they might have big shoes to fill, Councilman John Knittel urged applicants to come forward. As of Thursday, the borough had received multiple letters of interest for mayor and at least one for council.

“It is nice to see when people get involved and they take interest in the community,” Knittel said. “It’s a small community, and the more involvement we can have, the better.”