Now, having won the county seat, he apparently isn't leaving the state office - at least not yet.

Civera, who is to be sworn in to his council seat on Jan. 4, said through a spokesman this week that he did intend to vacate the House seat he's held since 1980; he just wouldn't say when.

The delay has touched off protest among county Democrats eying his seat and grumbles from those who want to succeed him as the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee.

There is also the question of legality: Does the state constitution allow someone to hold two elected offices at the same time?

After telling reporters at the time of his election to the five-member County Council on Nov. 3 that he would resign his House seat at some point, a closemouthed Civera has encouraged widespread speculation about his plans.

Did House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans (D., Phila.) ask him to stay and help guide next year's budget process? Was it a political move designed to influence the special election for his seat? Or might it be connected to the control of the Appropriations Committee - which plays a leading role in crafting the budget?

Or none of the above?

A Civera spokesman said the Drexel Hill lawmaker was staying on to "tie up loose ends" from this year's drawn-out budget process. "That plan has not changed," said Todd A. Brysiak. "However, with several key budget-related issues still open, no timetable has been set."

Democrats hold a slight voter-registration edge in the county, once a Republican stronghold. On Nov. 11, the party's top two leaders fired off an angry letter to Civera, saying he should resign immediately.

"He made a campaign promise, and he should keep his campaign promises," Edward J. Bradley Jr. of the Upper Darby Democratic Committee said in an interview Tuesday.

John F. McNichol, head of the Upper Darby Republican Party, who got Civera involved in politics in the 1970s, dismissed any suggestion that the county GOP has pressured Civera to hold on to his House seat.

He said Civera told him that Evans had asked him to stay to manage any budget talks should Gov. Rendell start next year's process early.

"I know that as soon as he can get out of there, he's going," McNichol said.

A spokeswoman for Evans had no comment.

Civera is one of four vacancies in the Democratic-controlled chamber (three Republican and one Democrat), and the only one whose departure date is up in the air.

Special elections to fill vacancies are set by the House speaker, Keith McCall (D., Carbon). But Civera's delay is forcing McCall to hold off setting the date. Bob Canton, a spokesman for McCall, wanted that date to be the same as the May 18 primary, as a way to save money and ensure a good turnout.

Civera could hold out as late as mid-March to meet the 60-day notice needed to call an election for his seat, Caton said.

In the meantime, Brysiak said, Civera was busy trying to resolve issues related to the proposed table games gambling bill, the last major piece of the 2009-10 budget left undone. Once that occurs, he said, Civera would "evaluate the situation and make a decision."

Bradley said he thought politics was driving the delay. He charged that Republicans recognize that the 164th District is a vulnerable seat and "want to leave him there as long as they can."

"It's a disgrace," said Bradley.

For his part, McNichol accused the Democrats of using the primary - which features a high-profile U.S. Senate contest between incumbent Arlen Specter and challenger U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) - to rush a Democrat into Civera's seat.

"We don't have a primary of substance and they do; that's their modus operandi," McNichol said. "It's common sense that the Democrats would want to have a primary when their voters are twice as much."

Some have raised questions about the ethics of holding two public jobs at the same time.

In her Nov. 11 letter to Civera, Upper Darby Democratic Committee chairwoman Angela D'Allesandro wrote, "We find it difficult to believe that you feel you can adequately serve in two elective offices at one time or that you would be justified in collecting two taxpayer-funded salaries simultaneously."

State House officials from both parties say it's legal to hold two elected posts; the law states only that one cannot hold an elected and an appointed post. Steve Miskin, spokesman for the House Republican caucus, said there are court cases upholding that section of the constitution.

In fact, said Miskin, in 1988 Mary Ann Arty served in the state House and also on the Delaware County Council at the same time.

"It's a decision up to Rep. Civera. We will support whatever he does," said Miskin. "The courts already determined that serving as state representative and county commissioner is OK."

But Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause of Pennsylvania, reads the constitution differently. "I think it precludes him from serving in both capacities," said Kauffman. "If you already hold a federal or state office, you can't hold another office."

There are rumblings, too, within the House Republican caucus where at least three members are vying to replace Civera for the sought-after post on the Appropriations Committee.

"The question comes up on people's minds if and when we will have another selection process" for committee chairman," said Rep. Doug Reichley (R., Lehigh), who has been lobbying for caucus support. "We are all in a position of waiting until Mario makes a determination."