With two 4-3 votes, Coaldale Council ousted Mayor Francisco Rodriguez and replaced him with Joel Johnson.

Johnson has attended recent council meetings, detailing reasons why he believed Rodriguez should not be mayor.Rodriguez was appointed by council during a meeting Dec. 16 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Richard Kellner.During that Dec. 16 meeting, after council deadlocked on Councilman Mike Doerr's motion to appoint Johnson as mayor, members recessed their special meeting and convened their vacancy board.The board consists of council members plus an appointed member, Vincent "Skip" Miller.Councilwoman Brenda Miller nominated Rodriguez, and he was appointed by a 4-3 vote.At previous meetings, during public comment, Johnson said that he had gotten proof that Rodriguez had not resided continuously in the borough for a year.He also said council had not followed the guidelines of the borough code when it convened the vacancy board, because 30 days had not passed since Kellner's resignation Dec. 1.During Tuesday's meeting, Johnson said that he had submitted Right to Know requests to Coaldale seeking copies of Kellner's letter of resignation, Rodriguez's residency affidavit and Rodriguez's signed Oath of Office.None of those documents can be found, according to a reply he received from Coaldale secretary Elizabeth Hosler, who is the Right to Know officer.Claire Remington, who served Coaldale as both mayor and councilwoman, spoke just before Johnson and also said that Rodriguez should be required to step down."The guidelines are as clear as day," Remington said. "Joel Johnson should be representing our town."Doerr made a motion, seconded by Frank Hutta, that council send Rodriguez a letter asking him to provide a residency affidavit.Under the question, after some discussion and input from solicitor Mike Greek, Doerr rescinded that motion and Hutta made a motion for council to declare the mayor's seat vacant. It was seconded by Doerr.The vote was 4-3, with Hutta, Doerr, Council President Thomas Keerans and Councilwoman Yvonne Stoffey voting yes, and Hosler, Harry Hontz and Angela Krapf voting no.Hutta then nominated Johnson to serve as mayor. Doerr seconded, and that motion passed by the same 4-3 vote.After conducting general business, under new business, Hutta motioned to remove Greek as borough solicitor, which was seconded by Mike Doerr.Hutta, Doerr, Stoffey and Keerans voted in favor of the move, while Hontz, Krapf and Hosler voted against it. By the same 4-3 vote, council appointed Robert Yurchak to serve as solicitor.