Election category, Page 131
Marsy’s Law votes won’t be counted, Pa. Supreme Court rules in split opinion
Pennsylvanians still have the right to cast a vote Tuesday on the proposed Marsy’s Law related to victim rights — but officials won’t be counting and sharing the results of votes on that particular measure, the state’s highest court affirmed in a split ruling Monday. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, on...
Low voter turnout expected across Western Pennsylvania on Election Day
Most counties in the area are predicting low voter turnout ahead of Tuesday’s election — typical for an election year with no presidential or congressional races. Only about a fourth of registered voters are expected to cast ballots in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties and a little more than a third...
Election HQ: Information on state, county, municipal races in Western Pa.
Election Day in Western Pennsylvania is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To get information on the local races, candidates and issues that are on your ballot, see the list below. For more information on polling places, go to the official election pages for...
Allegheny County DA Zappala faces challenge from independent Middleman, a longtime public defender
Allegheny County Public Defender Lisa Middleman is the second candidate to try to topple District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s 20-year tenure. Turahn Jenkins challenged Zappala, 62, in the Democratic primary in May. Jenkins, who left his post as the chief deputy director of the county public defender’s office to...
Marsy’s Law amendment hanging by a thread as election nears
The unprecedented, multimillion-dollar campaign to pass a referendum to include victims’ rights in the Pennsylvania Constitution is hanging by a legal thread, even before voters head to the polls Tuesday. The amendment, known as Marsy’s Law, has percolated through the General Assembly for two years. It passed the Legislature by...
In state Superior Court race, four candidates vie for two open seats
Four candidates are running for two open seats on Pennsylvania’s Superior Court, one of the state’s two intermediate appellate courts. The Superior Court hears all appeals from the Court of Common Pleas and is made up of 15 judges. Appeals are generally heard by a three-judge panel. Only one candidate,...
Open North Side seat, independents create crowded Pittsburgh City Council race
Three Pittsburgh City Council seats are up for grabs during Tuesday’s general election with independent candidates challenging two incumbents and vying for an open seat in the North Side’s District 1. Two council representatives – Democrats Corey O’Connor of Swisshelm Park and Deb Gross of Highland Park – are running...
Westmoreland Register of Wills race pits office holder against longtime office worker
The race for Westmoreland County register of wills pits the incumbent against one of the office’s longtime staff members. Democrat Katie Pecarchik, 51, is challenging Sherry Magretti Hamilton, 42, a Republican who is in her first four-year term. Pecarchik, a Hempfield resident, questions how much time Magretti Hamilton spends at...
School director, restaurant owner vie for Unity supervisor post
Michael O’Barto has spent two years on the Greater Latrobe School Board, but he hopes Unity voters will return him to his previous longtime role of township supervisor. Doug Murphy, who fell short in a 2017 bid to join the three-member board of supervisors, is vying again for the position....
Challenge to victims’ rights amendment heads to Commonwealth Court
A state appellate court will hear arguments Wednesday in Harrisburg in a suit seeking to bar Pennsylvania from counting votes in the Nov. 5 referendum on a crime victims’ rights amendment. Civil liberties advocates say Marsy’s Law, the proposed amendment that has attracted widespread support from victims’ rights groups and...
Hickenlooper urged to swap White House bid for Senate run
DENVER — John Hickenlooper has refused to yield to pressure from his team to scrap his presidential campaign and instead run for a Senate seat in Colorado. The former two-term Colorado governor is struggling to break through a crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates. He’s in the bottom tier of...
Joe Sestak relishes long-shot bid among Democratic presidential hopefuls
While the top 20 Democratic presidential contenders prepared for last week’s debates, retired Navy admiral and former two-term Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak traveled the road less taken as a long-shot presidential hopeful. This time, it was a series of meet-and-greet events in Iowa. It’s not the first time the maverick...
New Ken-Arnold School Board: 2 incumbents out, another tied
At least two incumbents of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board are on their way out, and another’s tenure appears to be hanging in the balance, according to Westmoreland County’s unofficial election results. In the Democratic Party race for Region I, two candidates received the same number of votes for one...
All school board candidates in North Hills, North Allegheny win nominations
Tuesday’s primary did nothing to thin the ranks of candidates seeking the five seats on the North Allegheny and North Hills school boards that will become vacant at the end of the year. All the candidates in both districts who ran in the May 21 primary were nominated to run...
Close Lower Burrell council race sees 1 incumbent dumped, mayor loses bid as well
Attorney Steve Yakopec Jr. squeaked by in the 11th hour — literally — of election night Tuesday to win a Democratic nomination for one of two city council seats up for grabs in November. Yakopec edged out incumbent Democrat Christopher Koziarski by just five votes, but only after absentee ballots...
How did the region’s embattled candidates fare in the primary?
Several incumbents went into Tuesday’s primary election facing strong criticism or controversy over decisions they made in office. Some won, some lost. Here’s a look at how the embattled candidates fared. Bobby Wilson topples Darlene Harris for Pittsburgh City Council District 1 Unofficial vote tallies show Wilson taking more than...
No surprises among uncontested primary races in North Hills
A number of candidates in North Hills municipalities with seats up for re-election faced no competition for their party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary. A candidate who runs unchallenged in the primary automatically receives their party’s nomination unless a write-in candidate gets more votes. A minimum of 10 write-in votes are...
Cheswick primary comes up 2 candidates short for council spots
The race for Cheswick Council appears to have still come up two people short after Tuesday’s primary election. Republican incumbents Michael Girardi and Brad Yaksich were the only two running for three open four-year seats and one open two-year seat. Girardi got the nomination for both the two-year seat and...
2 Tarentum council members lose seats in primary
Two incumbent Tarentum council members lost their seats in Tuesday’s primary, according to unofficial election results. In the Democratic race for a four-year, at-large seat, Councilman Tim Cornuet lost his bid for re-election to 3rd Ward Councilwoman Carrie Fox, who also won her party’s nomination for her four-year seat in...
2 McCandless council members knocked off in GOP primary
Two first-term McCandless council members who were propelled into office amid community outrage over plans to build a Walmart supercenter, failed to win party nominations in Tuesday’s primary to run for a second term. Ward 1 Council President Kim Zachary lost the Ward 1 Republican nomination to Greg Martin, who...
Andrejcik tops Callender for Democratic Lower Burrell mayor nomination; Yakopec gets shot at council
First-time political candidate John Andrejcik clinched a victory over incumbent Lower Burrell Mayor Richard Callender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, preliminary vote tallies show. Andrejcik, 60, a Navy veteran and retired Allegheny County Common Pleas court reporter, secured 55% of the vote to Callender’s 45%, with all nine precincts reporting, according...
Incumbent, challenger earn Democratic nods for Harrison commissioner
The husband of a district judge edged out an incumbent Harrison commissioner in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary, while another incumbent on the ballot cruised to victory. In Harrison’s 3rd Ward, challenger Eric S. Bengel defeated incumbent Robin Bergstrom by 18 votes, 182-164, according to unofficial results. Bengel, who had never...
3 incumbents, 2 challengers earn nods in Gateway races
There will likely be some new faces on the Gateway school board as two political newcomers were among the top five vote-getters in Tuesday’s primaries, according to unofficial results. Seven candidates cross-filed to seek five nominations up for grabs in the Republican and Democratic primaries. On the Democratic ticket, challenger...
Calabrese captures Democratic nod for Penn Hills mayor
Penn Hills voters picked Pauline Calabrese as their Democratic nominee for the municipality’s next mayor during the May 21 primary election. Calabrese, 56, earned 53% of the votes in Penn Hills with all precincts reporting unofficial results. Her opponent, current Councilman John Petrucci, had 47% of the votes. Current Mayor...
2 challengers win Democratic nods in Penn Hills Council race
Challengers Frank Pecora and Jim Getsy won the two Democratic nominations for Penn Hills Council May 21 in a crowded race with seven candidates, including an incumbent. With all precincts reporting unofficial results, Pecora had collected 19% of the votes counted followed by Getsy’s 18%. Incumbent Mark Brodnicki finished second-to-last...
