Fitzgerald, Copeland, Stephens win Springdale Council race

Two incumbents and a Democratic newcomer held off two challengers for the race in Springdale Council, unofficial vote tallies from the Allegheny County Department of Elections showed.

With all votes tallied, Shawn Fitzgerald Jr. led all vote-getters with 599 votes, or 27.85%, Daniel P. Copeland had 487 votes or 22.64% and Dolores J. Stephens had 468 votes or 21.76%

Mark Stanton had 435 votes, or 20.22%; there were 162 write-ins votes.

Fitzgerald, 32, a Republican, works as a loan servicing specialist. He was first elected in 2019.

Copeland, 41, a Republican, previously served a term on council and was appointed in April to fill a vacancy. He is the owner of CLC Paratransit and serves as assistant fire chief of the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department.

Stephens is a Democrat.

Stanton, 70, a Republican, works for Building Inspection Underwriters of PA. He previously served on Springdale Council in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Joe Kern, 40, ran a write-in campaign; it was unclear how many write-in votes were for him. said he was prompted to run for office after seeing the impact the June 2 smokestack implosion had on the community. He is among the 16 borough residents who have filed an injunction to block the planned implosion of the former power plant’s boiler house.