The State College Borough Council is now accepting applications for an interim councilmember to fill an unexpected vacancy.

Interested applicants can apply through the borough’s website. In order to be considered, applicants must meet the requirements laid out in the borough’s Home Rule Charter, which include being a borough resident and a registered voter within the municipality.

Applicants have until September 8 to submit letters of interest, while the public may submit questions for prospective councilmembers until September 9.

The Borough Council will hold a special meeting on September 10 to take a look at the applicants and finalize questions for them. The council could have applicants present themselves between September 15 and 17.

Council must vote to elect the interim councilmember by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 1. It plans to vote on the interim councilmember on Monday, September 21.

The unanticipated opening comes after former Councilman Dan Murphy resigned ahead of August 17’s meeting, citing the physical and mental stresses of serving in the role. His four-year term would’ve expired in 2021. The borough’s interim councilmember will serve the rest of his term.

Recently, Murphy expressed concern surrounding Penn State students’ return to campus amid the coronavirus pandemic. He vocally supported a new ordinance that gave the borough more power to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing, among other mitigation efforts.

Murphy won a seat on the Borough Council alongside Theresa Lafer and Evan Myers, who both currently serve, in 2017. Running as a cross-filed Democrat/Republican, Murphy pulled 29.80% of the vote en route to winning a four-year term.

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