Incumbent Beverly Jordan wins West Deer supervisors race

Incumbent Beverly Jordan won the Republican nomination for an at-large seat on the West Deer Board of Supervisors in Tuesday’s primary race.

Her challenger, former Supervisor Gerry Vaerewyck, said he conceded the race. Vaerewyck and Jordan previously served on the board together in 2016.

Unofficial primary election results showed Jordan leading with over 56% of the votes as of Wednesday afternoon, with seven of the township’s eight precincts reporting.

No Democrats appeared on the primary ballot, but 155 write-in votes were cast in that primary, according to the Allegheny County elections website. Those results were not available.

Jordan, 50, serves as the board’s vice chairwoman and has lived in the township for 20 years. As a township supervisor, she said she worked to cut taxes for lower-income residents and senior citizens and protect them from future tax hikes with a property tax deferral program.

“I will continue to be transparent and work effectively with all departments, residents and businesses to advance West Deer Township in a fiscally responsible manner,” Jordan previously told the Tribune-Review.

Vaerewyck, who served as supervisor from 2010 through 2018 and was public safety chairman, told the Tribune-Review before the election that he felt the current board was spending “unreasonably” and didn’t adequately support local fire companies. He also said he wanted to focus on roads and infrastructure.

After conceding the race, Vaerewyck said he hoped the board would be cognizant of the township’s finances and work to avoid tax increases.

“The biggest thing is I just hope they really keep in mind that West Deer’s a fairly poor community and we have a lot of seniors, so taxes have a huge impact,” he said.

He also urged voters to hold responsible those who have made promises during their campaigns.

“I would hope that they really stay engaged, stay active and hold the people that won these elections to what they said they were going to do,” he said.