An aide to Democratic state Senate candidate Tony Bompiani has urged Republican opponent Kim Ward to resign her post as a Westmoreland County commissioner, saying her political activity has caused her to neglect her county duties.

Ms. Ward replied that she has not missed a vote as commissioner and said she would not step down.

"Just 10 months ago, Kim Ward took office as county commissioner, promising to represent the residents of Westmoreland County with 'prudence and fairness.' Given the events of the last few weeks, we submit that she has not fulfilled that promise," Michael Monsour, director of the Bompiani campaign, said in a prepared statement.

"In those 10 short months, Commissioner Ward has not only lost full-time focus on the people of Westmoreland County by entering the race for the state Senate, but now she has shouldered even more distractions by recently taking on multiple responsibilities as the southwestern Pennsylvania co-chair for the McCain-Palin campaign. ... This has our campaign begging the question: Whose interest does Commissioner Ward have at heart?"

Ms. Ward was named the GOP replacement for state Sen. Bob Regola, R-Hempfield, who dropped his bid for re-election Aug. 11, citing negative publicity from a trial he faced for perjury and gun charges related to the death of his 14-year-old neighbor. Mr. Regola was acquitted of the charges.

Prior to being sworn into office in January, Ms. Ward was chairwoman of the Hempfield Board of Supervisors.

In a written response to Dr. Bompiani, Ms. Ward said she has not missed a single vote as commissioner and that her volunteer duties with the McCain-Palin campaign do not interfere with her job.

"As county commissioner, I have a perfect voting record and continue to fulfill my duties by working to bring openness and transparency to county government the taxpayers expect and deserve. While carrying out my responsibility as county commissioner, I have refused to accept my salary and benefits during this campaign," she said.

Tom Balya, chairman of the Westmoreland County commissioners and a Democrat, said it takes more than casting votes to fulfill duties as a commissioner. He said Ms. Ward has not taken an interest in learning her responsibilities as commissioner.

"She serves 370,000 people and has a $343 million budget. She has not demonstrated an interest in learning how county government is operated, where that money comes from or how it's spent," he said.

Joe Pittman, Ms. Ward's campaign manager, said Mr. Balya raised no specific examples of her lack of interest. He noted that Ms. Ward introduced a proposal for a new car policy for county employees last week.