Two Philly Democrats want to amend the Pa. Constitution to force elected officials to resign if convicted of a crime

HARRISBURG — Two Philadelphia state representatives renewed their push for Pennsylvania to require any elected official convicted of a crime to resign, following former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict last week.

Pennsylvania — and Philadelphia, in particular — have historically been hotbeds for corruption, with numerous elected officials facing criminal convictions for misusing their office. Now two Philly Democrats, State Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta and Jared Solomon, said they want to change the culture in Harrisburg and believe all elected officials should be held to a higher standard at a news conference on Tuesday.

“You can literally right now under state law be found guilty of a felony and not have to resign your office until you go through an arduous and in many instances, long appeals process,” Kenyatta said. “It’s critical that we here in the Commonwealth model the behavior that we want to see at every single level of government and that we hold ourselves to a high, high standard.”

The proposed constitutional amendment was inspired by several former state representatives from Philadelphia who resigned in the last 10 years on bribery or corruption-related charges.

Solomon, who was the first Democrat to call on former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon to resign after he initially declined to for two months in the wake of his conviction on bribery and conspiracy charges, said Henon’s actions also motivated him. (Philadelphia already requires elected officials convicted of a felony while in office to resign.) Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records renewed their push.

“Once there has been a conviction or a plea, are the constituents into which that elected official is responsive to and needs to represent really getting the best service?” Solomon said during a news conference Tuesday morning. “The answer is clearly ‘No.’ An elected official can’t just be dealing with their own legal struggles while their constituents suffer.”

Kenyatta, who is also running for state auditor general in November against Republican incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor, said many Pennsylvanians likely believe elected officials are required to resign once they are convicted of a felony.

“We’re saying when a jury of your peers hears all the evidence, goes through the adversarial process of cross examination, everything else and comes out with a verdict, particularly a felony verdict, give me a damn break. You don’t get to then just walk in the building and vote on legislation that could particularly impact you,” Kenyatta added.

Their proposal has an unlikely future in the General Assembly. Any constitutional amendment requires passage by both the House and Senate in two different legislative sessions before it goes before the voters to decide. It would also have no effect on Trump, if he’s reelected. It would only apply to state and local elected officials in Pennsylvania, Solomon said.

Solomon noted that residents in his Northeast Philadelphia district are likely to be forced to resign from their jobs if they’re convicted of a felony, but elected officials are not.