A Wexford woman, 36-year-old Kayla Michelle Van Blargan, faces serious charges over allegations of forging signatures to get a school board candidate on the ballot. As reported by WPXI, Van Blargan is accused of four counts, including forgery and perjury in connection with the nomination paperwork of Kathleen Ravotti for the Pine-Richland School Board.
Charged with election-related offenses by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Van Blargan compiled nomination papers, and her signed Statement of Circulator has been called into question, a legal document attesting to the veracity of petitions gathered. A candidate contending for the same seat contested the signatures, which eventually led to Ravotti withdrawing her candidacy. Having been interviewed, electors listed on the petition asserted they never put pen to paper, as stated by officials.
In a statement obtained by WPXI, Attorney General Sunday remarked on the importance of transparent and fair elections, emphasizing that no level of government is exempt from this democratic principle. "These criminal actions directly threatened the integrity of the election process that residents of this school district depended on for leadership over institutions of learning," Sunday asserted.
Meanwhile, Liz DeLosa, another candidate for the Region 1 school board position, who was endorsed by Together for PR, told WTAE, "Our kids are watching us as adults. They're taking our cues from us. And this community just deserves better. Our kids in this district deserve better." Together for PR was the organization that discovered the alleged discrepancies in the nomination petition. Charges against Van Blargan include forgery and unsworn falsification to authorities, thrusting another wrench into a community grappling with ideals of trust and the education system's stewardship.
