The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office has filed a “quo warranto” action in civil court challenging Colwyn Councilwoman Angela Johnson’s right to hold public office in light of a prior felony theft conviction.
Johnson, Colwyn Solicitor Ken Schuster and council President Barbara Williams did not respond to emails seeking comment Monday. No attorney for Johnson is listed on online court records.
The filing from Deputy District Attorney Doug Rhoads in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas notes that Johnson entered open “no contest” pleas to theft by deception and forgery, both second-degree felonies, on June 6, 2014.
Court records indicate she was sentenced to 23 months of intermediate punishment with 90 days on electronic home monitoring followed by three years of probation. She was also ordered to pay $5,375 restitution to FEMA and $1,161 in restitution to the Department of Public Welfare.
Johnson was resentenced to another six years of probation in November 2018 following a probation violation. That sentence made reference to a Philadelphia case, but court dockets do not show Johnson being charged with anything in that city.
Johnson, 49, of the 300 block Walnut Street, was elected to a four-year term on Colwyn Borough Council in November 2025 and took the oath of office in January.
Johnson, Williams and fellow Councilwoman Dawn Goldsmith ran unopposed as Democrats for three seats in the November election and split 90% of the votes fairly evenly, with the remaining 10% going to write-ins.
But Article II, Section 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that “No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public moneys, bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the General Assembly, or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this Commonwealth.”
Rhoads argues that Johnson’s conviction is for an “infamous crime” within the meaning of the state Constitution, that Johnson is therefore incapable of holding the office, and that her claim to the seat is forfeit.
No court dates had been set in the case as of Monday.