The Borough of Weatherly start 2026 without a mayor, due to the fact that provisions for electing a person to that position for the next two years were not made when the 2025 General Election ballots were prepared for the Nov. 4 election.

Norman B. Ritchie is currently serving in that capacity, having been appointed to the post earlier this year by the borough’s vacancy board.

By law, when a vacancy occurs in an elected position either by death or resignation, it is filled until the next municipal election. Richie’s tenure will expire at the end of the year, after which time borough voters would have elected someone to be the mayor for the final two years of the term.

Richie was named mayor after Paul J. Hadzick, who was elected to a four-year term in the 2023 election, resigned the post this summer.

Both Carbon County Commissioner Michael Sofranko and Attorney James Nanovic, solicitor for the borough, confirmed this year’s General Election ballot did not make a provision for the Weatherly electorate to elect someone for the last two years of Hadzick’s term.

Sofranko said Thursday during the monthly county election board meeting that the county election bureau had not been notified about this prior to the ballots being printed.

“There was never any notification officially to the election office that the resignation took place from the borough of Weatherly, nor was there any notification of a newly appointed mayor for the Weatherly area,” Sofranko said. “So even thought everybody reads it in the newspapers, we did not receive any official notification here as to what was going on.”

He pointed out that because it was an appointment, this position should have been on the upcoming election ballot.

Council solicitor Robert Frycklund said that he welcomes communication from Weatherly’s solicitor on what the plan will be going forward, however, nothing has been decided at this time that he has been made aware of.

“We’re not passing fault or blame anywhere here,” Sofranko said. “We all know things fall through the cracks and that happens at times, but we just want it noted that Weatherly has been made aware of it.”

Nanovic said earlier this week that the process of naming a borough mayor is likely to be addressed in the new year.

He explained the borough council will have 30 days to fill the vacancy, starting in January. If it fails to do so, the matter will go to the borough’s vacancy board. And if that board failed to come up with an appointee within 15 days, the position will have to be filled by the courts.

Reporter Amy Miller contributed to this report.