>>Republican State Senators Refuse To Seat Western PA Election Winner
(Undated) -- The swearing in of state senators in Harrisburg turned into a free-for-all on Tuesday. Republicans denied Western Pennsylvania Democrat Jim Brewster the right to take his oath in the state Capitol. At issue is a continuing challenge from Brewster's opponent in the November election. Brewster defeated Nicole Ziccarelli by 69 votes. Ziccarelli maintains that Allegheny County counted more than 300 votes into the final tally that should have been disallowed. She says that without those votes, she would be the winner. During yesterday's proceedings, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, in his role as president of the Senate, declined to hear a motion by Republicans to decertify Brewster's win. As a result, Republicans voted to remove him from his position as Senate president. For now, the state Senate seat representing parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties remains empty.