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Judge denies election recusal

A petition filed in the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas by a Carbon County Election Board member has been dismissed.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich asked to be removed from the election board so that he could support candidate Sam Lux in the upcoming November General Election. Lux is a candidate for county controller.

Last week, Judge Charles H. Saylor, who was appointed to the civil matter after the three county judges recused themselves, said in his order that the petition to declare vacancy on the county election board did not meet any requirements that would deem the request approvable.

Saylor said that “there is not a justifiable reason set forth in the petition for a ‘resignation,’” citing that it is not atypical that a county commissioner support the campaign of another candidate and financial support by a commissioner for a candidate is allowed by law.

He went on further to rule that if a matter of conflict of interest on Lukasevich’s part regarding a motion at an election board meeting, then he “has the option of refraining from voting on the motion or resolution.”

“This decision was a foregone conclusion as it occurred two years ago when I requested similarly when I decided to support with time, money and effort a candidate running for re-election,” Lukasevich said on his commissioner Facebook page.

“The request then was the ethically and morally right thing to do as it was this time. My conscience is clear.”

Lukasevich stepped down last month as the chair of the election board.

He previously asked to be allowed to resign from the post in a previous election, when he backed the re-election campaign of Tyra Boni.