Tarentum Democrat wins Republican nomination for mayor; 3rd Ward seat also to be contested

Tarentum voters will have a choice for borough mayor in November.

Former borough police Officer Robert Lang, who lost the Democratic primary in May to current Councilwoman Carrie Fox, won the Republican nomination as a write-in.

Lang, a registered Democrat, said he will accept the Republican nomination but otherwise declined to comment.

The Democratic primary was a three-way race among Fox, Lang and incumbent Eric Carter.

Fox won with 160 votes, Lang was second with 144, and Carter came in third with 61 votes, according to official Allegheny County election results.

On the Republican ballot, more voters cast write-ins — 144 in total — than who voted for the unopposed Republican candidate, Stephanie Adams. Lang received 86 write-in votes, besting the 50 votes for Adams.

Fox received 47 Republican write-ins, while Carter got 10.

Fox said she knows Lang well, that they’ve been friends for a long time and that she has “the utmost respect for him.” She said running against Lang for mayor will be “challenging.”

“We’re both great candidates. It’s a very hard choice for the people to make,” Fox said. “That’s not a bad problem to have, I guess, for the voters.”

While saying she had wanted to secure both party nominations, Fox said she’s run opposed many times.

“We’ll do what we can to win the race,” she said.

Fox agreed it’s unusual for an unopposed candidate on the ballot to lose to a write-in but said it’s not surprising because Lang is “a great guy.”

“I’d like people to think long and hard when they make their vote,” she said. “Elections aren’t popularity contests. They’re about doing the right things for the borough and the community.

“We’ll just see what happens in November.”

Tarentum Council races

Five of the seven seats on Tarentum Council are up for election this year, but only one race will be contested.

The seats up are both 1st Ward seats, held by Lou Ann Homa and Raymond Kerr, both Republicans; a 2nd Ward seat held by Democrat Adam Blythe; and both 3rd ward seats, held by Democrat Jim Bonner and Republican Brian Snyder.

All are running for their seats and will be on the ballot in November.

The only contested race will be between Bonner and Republican challenger Brian Paul Nolan, according to election results.

Two of the five seats, those held by Kerr and Snyder, are up for election this year because each had been appointed.

Kerr was appointed in January to replace Councilwoman Erika Josefoski, who resigned. Kerr won the Democrat and Republican nominations for his two-year seat as a write-in.

Kerr was on the Republican primary ballot as a challenger to Homa for her four-year seat, but Homa prevailed, 73-18. Homa also won the Democratic nomination for her seat as a write-in.

Snyder was appointed for a second time in January 2020, replacing Fox, who resigned the ward seat to accept council’s one at-large seat after winning both in the 2019 election.

Snyder was first appointed in February 2019, replacing Rhonda Dzugan, who resigned. He ran for election in 2019 but lost in that year’s primary.

Snyder won the Republican primary unopposed, and will be unopposed on the November ballot.

Blythe will also be unopposed.