Candidate for Canonsburg-based magistrate’s race permitted to remain on primary ballot
Challengers questioned Tenny’s residency in the borough
A candidate for the Canonsburg-based magisterial district judge seat whose residency is being questioned will be allowed to remain on the May 20 primary election ballot after a judge determined he provided enough evidence showing that he lives in the borough.
Charles “Chuckie” Tenny brought utility bills, voter registration information and pay stubs showing he lives and pays taxes in Canonsburg during a hearing Friday morning in which several Republican and Democratic voters challenged his residency and claimed he instead lives in a Fayette County home he and his wife built in 2022.
Chad Schneider, the attorney who represented the challengers during the hearing at the Washington County Courthouse, argued that Tenny actually lives in the Smock area of Menallen Township in Fayette County, where he and his wife have a deed to the property. But Senior Judge Katherine Emery appeared skeptical of that argument and asked for more proof.
“Deeds don’t tell me where someone lives,” Emery said.
“The election code says a person resides where their family lives,” Schneider responded. “Our position is he resides with his wife at that Fayette house.”
His wife, Stacey, is registered to vote at that Fayette County address, but Tenny is registered in Canonsburg and pays local income tax to the borough, which he provided to Emery.
“I’ve maintained that address and apartment, and I’ve lived there 24 or 25 years now,” Tenny said, alluding to the duplex that property records show he bought in October 2001.
Tenny told Emery that he spends two or three nights a week at the Menallen Township house with his wife – usually on weekends – and spends the other days of the week in Canonsburg, where he works as a borough police detective. That Fayette County property is meant to eventually be his retirement home with his wife, although he still has the Canonsburg house to allow him an easy daily commute to work, he said.
Schneider called that a “place of convenience” and that his wife living elsewhere proved that the other residence should be considered Tenny’s home, making him ineligible to run for magistrate here. Emery disagreed as she denied that portion of the challenge.
“Their personal relationship is not the only thing. The court is looking at everything: Where he’s registered to vote, where he pays his taxes,” Emery said. “There’s certainly not enough evidence that he lives in Fayette County.”
But Schneider also said Tenny did not properly fill out his financial interest statement, pointing to rental income he receives from a tenant at the Canonsburg duplex, along with money from two property management companies that he has a business stake in. Tenny offered to amend his financial statement, but Emery had heard enough at that point since there was no evidence about the amount of income he received.
“But his own testimony admitted that he has rental income,” Schneider said.
“I’ve made my ruling,” Emery said as she allowed Tenny to remain on the ballot.
Tenny is a cross-filed candidate running against incumbent District Judge James Saieva Jr. in both the Republican and Democratic primary elections on May 20 for the magistrate’s position that covers Canonsburg, Houston and North Strabane. After the hearing, Schneider said he would talk to the challengers and decide soon whether to appeal Emery’s ruling.
Emery will decide the fate of another candidate in the Canonsburg-based magistrate’s race, Republican Ivan Casilli, at 3 p.m. Monday after he said the challenge documents for him were merely taped to his door Wednesday without personal service. Emery granted Casilli, who appeared in court for the hearing, the delay to give him more time to hire a lawyer or prepare his case against the challenge that claims 13 of the 108 signatures he received were invalid.
Also Friday morning, Emery allowed Michael Kazmarski to remain on the Democratic ballot for Cecil Township supervisor because he dropped off his financial interest documents at the municipal building on the evening of the May 11 deadline to do so. However, she agreed that Daniel Ostrowski should be removed from the Republican ballot for Cecil supervisor since he turned in his financial documents more than a week late.