Com. v. McAfee

Citations

• 237 Pa. 320
• 85 A. 413
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 938

Syllabus

<p>Elections — Alderman—City of Pittsburgh — Consolidation—Expiration of term — Act of April &4, 1905, P. L. 807.</p> <p>The cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny were consolidated under the Act of February 7, 1906, P. L. 7. Prior to the consolidation, Pittsburgh had 44 and Allegheny 15 wards. In 1908 these old wards were abolished and the united city was divided into 27 new wards created pursuant to the Act of April 24, 1905, P. L. 307 which provides in Sec. 4 that “All aldermen......shall continue in office until the expiration of the terms for which they have been elected.” A person was chosen .an alderman in 1906 by the electors of an old ward, which, after the consolidation, became a part of the new third ward of the City of Pittsburgh and his term, by virtue of the Constitutional Amendments of 1909, expired on the first Monday of December, 1911. At the election in November, 1911, he was a candidate for a new term of five years, to commence on the day of the expiration of his former term, and he received a majority of the votes cast. At the time of the con-5 solidation, there were three aldermen in commission within the limits of the new third ward of the City of Pittsburgh, of whom the terms of two were to expire in May, 1912 and the term of the other was not to expire until May, 1913. Article Y, Sec. XI, of the Constitution, provides that aldermen shall be elected in the several wards by the qualified electors thereof, and then directs as follows: “No person shall be elected to such office unless he shall have resided within the......ward......for one year next preceding his election. In cities containing over fifty thousand inhabitants, not more than one alderman shall be elected in each ward.” Held, (.1) that there was no authority for attempting to elect an alderman for the new third ward of the City of Pittsburgh at the general election in November, 1911, and that the candidate referred to was not then lawfully elected to the said office; and (2) that the Ac