Leechburg Council race yet to be decided, resolution could come Thursday

Armstrong County Elections results show a tie between two incumbents in the Leechburg Council race, while a well-known Leechburg pharmacist earned the most votes cast Tuesday at the polls.

Democrats Chuck Pascal and Alan Tarr each earned 179 votes, according unofficial returns posted by the elections bureau.

Both currently sit on council.

Messages left at the county office were not returned Wednesday.

Pascal said he spoke with election officials who said there are still 73 mail-in ballots yet to be counted, and they expect an official determination sometime Thursday.

“There were a lot of good candidates running,” Pascal said Wednesday afternoon. “There isn’t a tie because we haven’t counted all the votes yet. There may be a tie tomorrow. We had a good day at the polls talking to people. That was very positive. I think the mail-in votes can shuffle up the entire race. I believe they will be favorable, but I don’t know.”

Incumbent Republican Lorrie Bazella earned 189 votes, just one vote fewer that second-place finisher Dustin Waldenville who was on both party ballots. County election results show Waldenville earned 190 votes.

“I would think that I would be among the four (winners),” Bazella said. “I’m not really worried. I’m glad people come out to vote. I’m glad people who didn’t come out to vote mailed in their ballots. We all want some sort of change. I’m just hoping that we can make it happen.”

She encouraged residents to come to council meetings regardless of who may be elected.

“Input from our community is huge,” Bazella said. “I’d love to see people come to our council meetings and ask questions find out what’s going on.”

Waldenville, 21, was the youngest of the candidates.

“I’m quite excited,” he said about the results so far. “I’m happy for all the support that I got. I look forward to working with all the council members. I think what really helped me was being at the polls all day. I got to talk to a lot of great people.”

Waldenville believes he will be able to survive any mail-in vote shakeup.

“It could possibly change things, but I’m not too worried,” he said.

Waldenville plans to focus on helping small businesses should he be elected.

Meanwhile, John Mrvan was listed as the top vote-getter with 223 votes. The lifelong resident and pharmaceutical technician for Leechburg HealthMart Pharmacy was grateful for the support.

“I thank everybody for their support,” Mrvan said. “I can’t wait to get to work for the town. I hope that I make them as proud as they made me.”

He said he’s built relationships with just about everyone through the pharmacy, and bringing in more businesses is among his top priorities.

Mrvan said he also looks forward to working with either Pascal or Tarr.

“They’re both fantastic. Either one would be great to get in,” Mrvan said. “Whoever doesn’t get in, it’s a shame, because they both deserve to be there.”

Pascal called Mrvan a great guy and well-liked in the town, and is not surprised at his results.

County election results indicate a 25.35% turnout in Leechburg. There were 34 unresolved write-in votes.