The first one, I was expecting. I got a press release that state Rep. Bev Mackereth, R-Spring Grove, was going to make a big announcement in the York County Commissioners meeting room.

I'd heard some rumblings that Mackereth was going to replace Judith Bassett, who resigned several months ago as county human services director. I called her the night before the press conference and asked if she wanted to confirm it on the record. She apologetically declined, saying she didn't want to defy the county commissioners, who'd asked her to hold off on breaking the big news before the press conference.

That's understandable, I guess. You don't want to start a new job by disobeying your new bosses.

Technically, I don't know whether to call it a resignation or not. She's not actually quitting her post, since intends to finish out her term, which expires at the end of this year. She simply will not run for re-election in November.

Now, it's up to Republican committee members from her district to find a replacement, since the primary is already over.

No Democrat ran in the April primary. So her successor might have a clear shot at that seat, unless a Democrat runs a write-in campaign or an independent or third-party member mounts a challenge. And even then, her challenger would have an uphill fight in the predominantly Republican 196th District.

The other de facto resignation I definitely was not expecting.

During the summer months, a lot of people in the newsroom take vacation time, and we frequently fill in on each other's beats. So on Wednesday morning, the day after the Mackereth press conference, my editors asked if I'd cover York Mayor John Brenner's monthly press conference for our city government reporter.

For whatever reason, summer months tend to be kind of slow for government news stories, and I figured Brenner probably wouldn't have anything particularly dramatic to say. Boy, was I wrong!

He announced a few upcoming municipal projects, including a new pamphlet for "York's Downtown Action Plan," and a drive to identify and deal with blighted properties. He urged residents to take safety precautions if they give sparklers to kids for the July 4th holiday.

Then he announced that he won't run for re-election next year.

Frankly, all of this left me feeling a little freaked out. I'd show up at politicians' press conferences, and they'd announce their imminent departures.

So I couldn't help but wonder -- is it me? Something I said? My cologne? What?

Like I alluded to earlier, I don't ordinarily cover York city government. I'll let people more knowledgeable than myself on that topic analyze the implications of Brenner's departure.

Where Mackereth is concerned, her announcement echoes one that state Rep. Steve Nickol, R-Hanover, made late last year about his intention not to run again. Both Nickol and Mackereth said that a major factor in their decisions was the Republican status as minority party in the state House of Representatives since the 2006 elections. It's simply harder to get things done, they said.

I mentioned that to a colleague, who was skeptical. He pointed out that the Democratic majority consists of a single seat in the House of Representatives, meaning that the Republicans could well retake the chamber in November. He believes that they're just tired of getting grief over the 2005 legislative pay raise, and don't want to admit it.

To be honest, I'm not convinced. As politicians go, Mackereth and Nickol have always been pretty forthcoming.

I suspect it has more to do with the reluctance of many politicians to leave office before they've finished their terms, because they feel they'd be letting down the people who elected them. Both Nickol and Mackereth have told me they feel that way.

So if the election doesn't go the Republicans' way in November, they'd both feel locked in for two more years.

Also, Mackereth told me that she wouldn't be doing this if the county hadn't offered her the job.

I stopped by her office in the State Capitol Thursday to interview her for a profile that's running tomorrow. She was telling me about some of the situations she's been contending with since finding herself in the minority party.

She said that the chairman in one of her committees -- she wouldn't say which one -- orders her to put her hand down when she tries to ask a question or voice her opinion. I don't know if any Republicans did that to Democrats when they were the majority, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Assuming Mackereth is telling the truth, and I have no reason to believe that she isn't, that's disturbing on a number of levels. Rudeness aside, it doesn't say much for that lawmaker's respect for the democratic process.

Mackereth is there not only as a member of the Republican caucus, but as a representative of everybody who lives in her district. By telling her to shut up, this lawmaker is essentially telling every Pennsylvanian who lives in the 196th district -- Republican and Democrat -- that they have no right to a voice in their state government.

So while Mackereth admits to some reluctance in walking away from state government, I guess I can understand why she'd want to walk away.