Penn Hills council’s first official item of business for 2020 involved the removal of an economic development committee chairman for something he allegedly did nearly three months ago. Tyler Tomasino, 28, will no longer serve on the all-volunteer committee aimed at making recommendations to council on how to retain and attract business in Penn Hills. Council voted 3-2 for his removal. Councilmen John Petrucci and Jim Getsy dissented. The move stemmed from political satire that Tomasino was accused of creating and disseminating on social media. The cartoon borrowed from “The Goonies” movie poster and depicted state Rep. Tony DeLuca, Planning Commissioner Jerry Chiappinelli, then Mayor-elect Pauline Calabrese, then Councilman-elect Frank Pecora and Deputy Mayor Catherine Sapp. Each political figure also received a nickname. Sapp’s was “Cathy ‘Deputy Dip Sh*t’ Sapp.” When it surfaced online, Sapp was offended by her nickname and the notion she belonged in the group of politicians listed on the poster as “Tony’s Cronies.” Sapp called for Tomasino’s removal in November. Her motion never went to a vote because former Mayor Sara Kuhn tabled it. Then, on Dec. 2, Kuhn called for his removal, calling the poster “hurtful and harmful.” Calabrese said she was never offended by the poster. She even cracked a couple of jokes about it with Tomasino after she won the election, the mayor said. “This is not about negative campaigning,” Calabrese said. She added that two of the three elected officials on the poster were already elected. So Tomasino, the mayor said, knew he would have to work with them. “So to me that showed a lack of maturity, professionalism and judgment,” she said. In a prepared statement, Petrucci spoke in support of Tomasino, who assisted in his campaign for mayor. He chalked up the ordeal to be “testosterone” during an election season and called it one of the least of Penn Hills’ problems. “Mr. Tomasino did nothing wrong but share something he received from another person,” he said. Getsy, who also read from a prepared statement, said he opposed Tomasino’s removal because the former chairman did not intend for the graphic to become public. He also spoke highly of Tomasino’s competence and character. “I’m not asking that you forgive and forget,” Getsy said to his fellow council members. “I’m asking you to take the high road, set aside your anger, for the good of the community.” Three residents spoke against his removal, while two others agreed he should be removed. Tomasino was not at the Jan. 13 council meeting. He did not return a phone call seeking comment.