Booted candidate files suit to get back on ballot
Residency questioned in district judge race
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In the race to replace a longtime district judge in McKees Rocks and Stowe, Democratic leaders backed a businessman who lists his mother’s modest home as his abode but who also owns a sprawling estate in Robinson.
Now James Selelyo, 61, is suing to get back on the ballot after a judge found that he lived outside of the district he sought to serve and booted him from the race.
Mr. Selelyo seemed to be the early front-runner for the seat long held by District Judge Mary Ann Cercone, who is retiring. Winner of the Democratic Committee endorsement, he boasted on his campaign website of backing from Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein; U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills; state Sen. Wayne Fontana, DBrookline; and state Rep. Dan Deasy, D-Westwood.
The now-defunct website featured a picture of a 740-squarefoot bungalow in Stowe, valued by the county at $40,600, which Mr. Selelyo inherited from his mother, who died a year ago.
The website made no mention of his other house in Robinson — 5,716 square feet on 4 acres, which he bought from his former motherin-law for $1 in 2004. Valued at $675,000 by the county, it’s now listed for sale at an asking price of $1.3 million online, described as a four-bedroom, 4½-bathroom “incredible handcrafted stone estate” with a four-car garage.
Mr. Selelyo said he lived in the Robinson house for about seven years with his former wife, Stephanie Triko, and moved out after his divorce. Now his fiancee lives there. He said she pays no rent, and he sometimes visits.
Ronald S. Kushner, a rehabilitation specialist from McKees Rocks who is running for the seat, said he's skeptical. “If you own over a half million dollar home in Robinson Township, you’re not going to be living in a home that’s … probably maybe $25,000 or $30,000," he said.
Four people filed court challenges to Mr. Selelyo’s nominating petitions, citing deed documents and legal filings upon which he had listed the Robinson address. To take the office, a person must have been a resident of the district for a year — and Robinson isn’t in the district that has elected Judge Cercone for three decades.
On March 22, Judge Joseph James struck Mr. Selelyo from the ballot, “for failure to reside within the [district].” Last Friday, Mr. Selelyo appealed to Commonwealth Court. It is not clear when the appeal will be heard.
Mr. Selelyo said he votes in Stowe, gets mail at numerous locations including his mother’s old