IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 7, 2007
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine:

Office: 724.738.4854

Cell: 724.991.8302

                                                                                                                                                    gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

Slippery Rock University political science major wins constable seat 

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Tim Busi, a Slippery Rock University junior, may want to touch base with Pittsburgh’s 27-year-old mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Busi, 21, made his political debut by getting himself elected constable of Slippery Rock Township.

            “If I meet the mayor, I’ll tell him, ‘I’m going to be the next young politician in this area,’” Busi said with a chuckle.

            The political science major ran as a write-in candidate in the Nov. 6 election. He received one vote – his own. Thirteen other candidates received one vote, forcing the Butler County Bureau of Elections to schedule a tiebreaker.

            “They put 14 numbers in a bag and told us whoever got the lowest number wins,” Busi said. “I drew first and drew No. 1. I couldn’t believe it.”

            Constables are elected to six-year terms. If certified for law enforcement, they carry the power to arrest and serve warrants. Those who are not certified monitor elections twice a year. Busi said he plans to fulfill his term, most likely sticking to elections.

            He ran on a whim after noticing there were no candidates on the ballot for constable in the township. 

            “Every time in a local election when there is no candidate, I just write myself in,” he said. “All I understood about the job was a constable is someone who serves warrants.”

            Did he expect to win? “Oh, not at all, I didn’t think anything of it when I left the polling place, then I got the letter,” he said.

            Still, he will take the job seriously, as he does his studies. Busi is a member of the political science honorary at SRU. He plans to attend graduate school and become a political science college professor.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.