Schuylkill County’s Republican Committee has voted overwhelmingly to censure county Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr.

The vote was taken Tuesday during a meeting of the group.

After other matters of business were conducted, committee person Christy Joy, a former county controller, proposed the censure.

“As committee person, we have a responsibility to support and elect candidates, who uphold Republican principles of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and integrity. Our commissioner chairman, Republican county row officers, and county state representatives have for many months now repeatedly called for the resignation of Commissioner George Halcovage due to his conduct towards subordinate employees at the courthouse, and, more recently his repeated absenteeism from commissioner meetings,” Joy’s statement says.

“Our state legislature has twice been presented with resolutions to move forward with the impeachment of George Halcovage due to his unwillingness to resign as a county commissioner. The most recent resolution is pending before the state House of Representatives, and will likely be acted upon by the judiciary subcommittee.

“In the event George Halcovage is reelected, he may still be impeached by the legislature, which will result in a commissioner vacancy,” Joy said.

“More importantly, the image and standing of the Schuylkill County Republican Party will be tarnished. “Commissioner Halcovage has shown a repeated pattern of being fiscally irresponsible, lacking transparency, and a lack of integrity. His frequent missing of commissioners meetings has resulted in key issues not being voted on and timely addressed.

“In view of these undisputed facts, I move that the Schuylkill County Republican committee censure George Halcovage,” he said.

Committee member David Leinbach seconded Joy’s motion.

After a “vigorous” discussion, committee members voted 30-3 in favor of the censure. The remaining six attendees abstained, said Chairman Howard Merrick.

The committee has 75 members; 39 attended the meeting, fulfilling the 30-person quorum for votes to be taken.

The move to censure means that the organization disapproves of Halcovage’s conduct. It does not expel him from the group or restrict his activities.

Efforts to obtain a comment from Halcovage, who did not attend the meeting, were unsuccessful.

Years of legal woes

Halcovage was sued for sexual harassment in U.S. District Court, Scranton, in March 2021 by four women who work at the courthouse.

Identified in the suit only as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3, and 4, the women contend Halcovage began sexually harassing them when he first took office in 2012.

In October 2021, they filed an additional complaint, saying several county officials not only failed to stop the harassment and subsequent retribution against the women, but tried to cover it up.

Halcovage has denied the accusations.

As the case trudges on, impeachment proceedings remain in limbo.

The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts last fall gathered evidence and listened to testimony, but ended the legislative session without finishing its task.

When the legislature resumed work in January, four of the six subcommittee members had left the group.

In March, state representatives Tim Twardzik, R-123 District; Joanne Stehr, R-107, Hegins; Dane Watro Jr., R-116, Kline Township; and Jamie Barton, R-124, East Brunswick Township, introduced a resolution to resume the investigation.

State Rep. Tim Briggs, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has yet to act on it.

For Halcovage to be impeached - a rare event, and the only way to unseat an elected official - the House would have to vote to impeach him, and a trial would held by the Senate.

The accusations against Halcovage surfaced in the spring of 2020, when an investigation by the county Human Resources Department found that he had violated the sexual harassment, conduct and disciplinary action, and the physical and verbal abuse policies.

According to the report, had Halcovage been an employee rather an elected official, he would have been fired.

The Human Resources Department handed the investigation report over to District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake, who sent it to the state Office of the Attorney General, which did not file charges.

In March 2021, all three members of Schuylkill County’s state House delegation - Twardzik, Joe Kerwin, R-125, Lykens, and Jerry Knowles, R-124, Rush Township, called for Halcovage to step down.

At about the same time, county Republican Committee officials - Merrick, Robert Bylone, Mary Labert, Larry Padora, Ben Wiessner, and Carolyn Bonkoski - also asked him to resign.