A pair of Democrats looking to replace incumbents on Allegheny County Council won convincingly Tuesday night in the only two contested primary races for council.

In District 1, Moon’s Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling collected 76.1% of the votes counted as of 11 p.m. compared to 23.5% for Carl Villella of Moon, according to unofficial tallies with about 99% of precincts reporting results and more than 4,400 write-in votes tallied.

Republican Mary Jo Wise was unopposed for the GOP nomination.

District 1 includes communities in northwestern Allegheny County. Democrat Jack Betkowski of Ross, the district’s current councilman, decided not to seek reelection.

Madonna-Emmerling’s campaign website said she has extensive experience in nonprofit fundraising, writing and project management. She said she ran for council to “ensure suburban communities have a strong, effective voice in county decisions.”

If elected, she said her top priorities would include connecting suburban residents with a range of county resources and focusing on issues such as stormwater management, access to human services and public transportation.

With 100% of precincts reporting unofficial results in District 9 and nearly 3,900 write-in votes tallied, Duquesne’s Aaron Adams collected 54.7% of the votes counted compared to 28.8% for Kellianne Frketic and 14.9% for Dylan Altemara. Frketic and Altemara are both from Elizabeth Township.

No Republicans appeared on the primary ballot.

District 9 includes communities in southeastern Allegheny County. Democrat Bob Macey of West Mifflin, who has represented the district since 2006, decided not to seek reelection.

Adams, then 23, was elected to Duquesne City Council in 2021, becoming the youngest person elected to serve on the council in the city’s history, according to his campaign website. If elected to county council, Adams said his top priorities would include looking for ways to boost the economy, create jobs and improve the quality of life in the Mon Valley.

There were no other contested races for Allegheny County Council in the primary.

Mt. Lebanon’s Mike Embrescia, appointed to an at-large seat on council earlier this year to replace former Councilman Sam DeMarco, was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Democrat Lissa Geiger Shulman of Hampton and Republican W. Christopher Lochner of Hampton were unopposed in District 3, where Anita Prizio decided not to seek reelection.

Incumbent Democratic Councilman Patrick J. Catena of Carnegie and Republican challenger Bob Doddato of North Fayette faced no opposition in their respective primaries in District 4, while incumbent Democratic Councilwoman Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis of Plum and Republican challenger Michael Dell of Plum were unopposed in District 8.

Incumbent Democratic Councilman Robert J. Palmosina of Banksville was the only candidate on the ballot in either party in District 12.

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