Members respond after Davis asks for Redevelopment Authority board resignations

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis has requested the resignations of three of the five members of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors, a move that authority board members say is a violation of state legal precedent.

The letters were sent Wednesday to authority Chairwoman Kate Philips, Secretary William DeLuca and Treasurer Laith Wardi, and requested each submit a letter of resignation via email to Davis no later than Friday, according to a copy of a letter obtained by the Erie Times-News.

In a statement Friday, Davis stated his decision was not a reflection of the board members' current or past performance, but rather a "larger effort to align the ECRDA board with the strategy of the current Erie County executive."

Board members Philips, DeLuca and Wardi, however, agreed that shaking up the board was an attempt to get rid of Redevelopment Authority CEO Tina Mengine, who Davis has criticized and previously referred to as a "former Dahlkemper congressional staffer," referring to former U.S. congresswoman and former Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper.

"This is 100% a vendetta against Tina Mengine," Wardi said. "His chief of staff says this is nothing personal. It has everything to do with politics."

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Board members respond

In a statement Friday, the board stated that the Redevelopment Authority was formed in pursuant of Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law, which provides that board members are appointed to a five-year term and will hold office until a successor has been appointed.

The statement cites two cases from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that interpret that statute and indicate that an appointing authority such as the county executive lacks the power to remove from office, at his pleasure, appointed members of an authority created under the Urban Redevelopment Law.

The statement added that the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law "takes precedence over any contrary local rule, as a county's Home Rule Charter can only authorize the county to exercise powers and perform functions that are not denied by the Constitution of Pennsylvania, by statute, or by its home rule charter."

"Accordingly, these board members will serve out their full terms on the board." the statement concluded. "Please accept this letter as a denial of your requests for their resignations."

ECRDA letter: View the board's letter sent in response to Davis' request for resignations

DeLuca, who is a senior vice president with Erie Bank, and Wardi, who trains economic development professionals nationally as owner of Erie-based ExecutivePulse, told the Erie Times-News they were stunned by the letters.

DeLuca said his letter raised questions about the propriety of a banker sitting on the authority board. Wardi said the letter he received said it was the prerogative of the county executive to choose his own board.

Interviewed early Friday afternoon, neither said they had planned to step down from their unpaid positions.

"I try to treat it like a job," DeLuca said. "I try to make sure we are running it like a business. I am insulted about this whole thing, to be honest."

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"I thought we were supposed to be independent and not political," he continued. "Davis won the election and has every right to appoint people, but how do you remove board members like this?"

Philips, who is the CEO and co-founder of Parker Philips, a consulting firm specializing in economic impact analysis, strategic marketing and public affairs, also pushed back.

“In economic development, it takes years to build momentum coupled with courage and hard work by many talented professionals rowing in sync to begin to spark what can sometimes ignite into a win — it’s a fragile ecosystem that must never be driven by ego or quest for recognition, only the good of the greater community; and an unlawful power play to advance the political whims of one man could disrupt that momentum, cause Erie County to lose funding, and damage its reputation," she said in a statement to the Erie Times-News.

Mengine declined to comment.

Mengine praised by board members

DeLuca and Wardi had praise for Mengine and her staff.

"I think we have the right leader. We have cooperation like we have never had before," DeLuca said. "This was our chance to fix stuff. I don't know why we can't work together. Why does he have to blow up the RDA?"

In one sense, the move isn't a big surprise. Davis said in a previous interview with the Erie Times-News that he had little respect for the expertise of Mengine. He also said he saw himself taking a leadership role in economic development.

Wardi said that's not fair to Mengine, who worked for years in economic development on the Governor's Action Team, or to members of her staff, who have extensive experience in the field.

"There is irrefutable evidence that she is doing better than anyone else has done in that job by leaps and bounds," Wardi said. "The Governor's Office understands that she is a rainmaker. There is only one voice in the community that says she is not doing her job."

He referred, of course, to Davis, who drew scathing criticism from Wardi.

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Wardi said he did not support Davis in the election, but expected they would be able to work together.

"Instead, he has been a dog nipping at our heels," Wardi said. "I wish I could say something nice about the county executive, but I find no redeeming qualities."

DeLuca and Wardi both said they would be willing to leave the authority board when their terms expire. That comes at the end of this year for Wardi and at the end of 2023 for DeLuca. Wardi said he won't leave voluntarily before then.

"If he (Davis) finds someone with my credentials who is willing to serve, I will be more than happy to step down," Wardi said.

More:Mengine to lead Redevelopment Authority

The same goes for the other board members and the staff of the Redevelopment Authority.

"People like Tina Mengine and Chris Groner do not grow on trees," Wardi said. "We are playing with the future of this community right now."

Wardi said he also worries about the message this battle over economic development will send.

"This is really serious," he said. "Everybody (on the board) is giving their time and energy. This is personal. It's an attack on who you are. We are now in a dynamic that is not healthy. This is rotten."

Erie County Council's role

Members of the ECRDA board are under no obligation to resign and can only be removed by the county executive with the advice and consent of County Council, according to the Home Rule Charter.

Council Chairman Brian Shank will bring forward a resolution during Tuesday's regular meeting to approve Davis' decision to remove the board members.

County Council Vice-Chairwoman Mary Rennie said she will not support the resolution.

"There doesn't appear to be any facts to support such a decision," she said.

Rennie, who lauded the ECRDA as one of the most successful entities in Erie County in terms of restoring properties, retaining jobs and attracting businesses, said she hoped none of its board members resigned. She added that boards and authorities are meant to be independent of politics.

"They are not extensions of the county executive's agenda — they have their own mission," she said.

Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com.

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County Executive Davis asks Redevelopment Authority members to resign