Riegelsville’s longtime mayor Gregory P. Stokes resigned unexpectedly in a March 8 letter addressed and delivered to Council President Tom Stinnett and the Riegelsville Borough Council.
In 2021, Stokes was reelected to a new four-year term after beating Julia Justine in the Republican primary. He was unopposed in the general election.
A second-generation family and sports chiropractor, Stokes confirmed to the Herald that while he continues to operate his storefront business at 101 Delaware Road, he no longer resides in Riegelsville. When he left the borough is unclear. He declined to say where he lives now.
According to Pennsylvania General Assembly Title 8 documentation, elected borough and township officials are not allowed to hold office if they do not live in their elected municipality.
In his resignation letter, however, Stokes named “…changes in my life and constraints on my time” as his reasons for leaving office after serving 14 years. He thanked both the borough council and “the citizens of Riegelsville for their steadfast guidance and support,” and later added, “it is time for me to concentrate on other things.”
Both Stinnett and Stokes were quite adamant that the board did not force the mayor to resign. “The mayor resigned on his own, just as his resignation letter states,” said Stinnett, who shared the ex-mayor’s letter with the Herald.
At press time, Stinnett had not responded to a question asking when he and borough council learned that Stokes no longer lived in Riegelsville.
Stinnett posted an official notice for the open mayoral four-year position on March 15, calling for all interested candidates to come forward. He told the Herald on March 23 that he “had one candidate in mind to date” and hoped to receive other applicants for the council to consider.
A special council meeting has been called for Thursday night to review the situation and make a possible appointment at that time.
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