Delmont councilman Bill Marx already opted to not seek reelection as he faces a possible fall 2021 deployment in with his Army Reserves unit.

The former Marine now has been stripped of his role as borough council vice president for publicly calling out fellow council members who have not worn masks to cover their faces during the covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Following an executive session Tuesday night, council voted 4-2 to remove Marx as vice president. Both he and Councilman Dave Weber voted no; council President Andrew Shissler abstained.

“We need a council vice president who is going to be here,” said Councilwoman Becky Matesevac, who made the motion to remove Marx.

“I may not be here next year — my (military) unit is looking at a deployment,” said Marx, 44. “I didn’t think it was fair to run for another term. But that means I can’t serve out my current term as vice president?”

Marx said his possible deployment was not even mentioned in the closed-door meeting.

“That’s not what you said 15 minutes ago,” he said, directing his comments at Matesevac. “If (Matesevac) would like to bring up what she mentioned in the executive session — I will not bring it up.”

Matesevac refused to elaborate and called for a vote.

“You will not say publicly your reason for doing this,” Marx said. “It just shows me the character of the people I’m serving with, the same type of people who will not wear masks to protect their own constituents.”

Several members of the borough council, including Matesevac and Dennis Urban, who seconded her motion, have not worn masks at recent public meetings — although they did wear them Tuesday, according to solicitor Dan Hewitt.

In the public chat during the livestreamed council meeting, Marx said he was being removed as vice president “for my letter to the editor.” Council did not address the comment.

In December, Marx penned a letter to the editor, published by the Tribune-Review, asking council members to set an example for the public by following the universal masking orders issued by the state’s Department of Health shortly before Thanksgiving.

“Apparently ‘because I don’t like it’ is justification enough to ignore public health standards and lawful orders to the detriment of the community,” Marx wrote.

Updated orders issued in November by Dr. Rachel Levine, the state’s former health secretary, require residents age 2 and older to wear a face covering when indoors among people from multiple households, and outdoors where they are not able to maintain six feet of distance from others.

“As this is a legal Order under the Disease Prevention and Control Law, law enforcement officers are authorized to issue warnings or citations to businesses, persons, facilities and organizations that do not comply,” state health officials said in a website explainer on the universal masking order.

While state police have done enforcement of the health orders at restaurants, the Tribune-Review did not find any instances of public officials being cited.

Some Pennsylvania towns have taken matters into their own hands. In October of last year, Narberth, a small borough just outside Philadelphia, passed an ordinance that would levy a $15 fine on people who refused to don masks in the borough’s business district and its parks. That ordinance was amended in December to be less restrictive.

Locally, both Murrysville and Delmont temporarily closed their offices to the public during some of the largest spikes in the covid-19 pandemic.

Marx’s removal does not affect his council term. Council officers, Hewitt said, are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of its members.

Melissa Melewsky, media counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said that while the laws covering executive sessions allowed council to hold the discussion about Marx’s vice presidency in private, it was not required.

“It’s important to note that the personnel executive session is not mandatory,” Melewsky said. “The agency in this case could have held this discussion in public, but it chose to use the personnel executive session in this circumstance.”

Matesevac, Urban and Shissler did not return calls and messages seeking comment. Stan Cheyne and Weber declined to comment.

Cheyne was appointed council’s new vice president by a 5-1 vote. Marx voted no and Shissler abstained.

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