Financial reports reveal shoestring campaigns for Westmoreland commissioner

The candidates for Westmoreland County commissioner have spent about one-eighth of what was paid out during the months leading up to Election Day four years ago, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

Financial reports of Republican incumbents Sean Kertes and Doug Chew and Democrats Ted Kopas and Lisa Gephart revealed that all four candidates combined spent less than $75,000 since the start of September. During the same period in 2019, then-incumbent Democrats Kopas and Gina Cerilli Thrasher, along with challengers Kertes and Chew, spent more than $600,000 leading up to Election Day.

The sparse spending might reflect a new political era in Westmoreland County, according to former Westmoreland commissioner Tom Balya, who retired in 2011.

“The Republicans probably feel comfortable and think that regardless of what they spend, they will win,” Balya said.

Balya, a Democrat who ran and won four races for commissioner, said this year’s shoestring campaigns are an indicator of what is expected to be an election without much suspense.

Republicans have become the dominant political party in the county after decades of having limited success at the polls. The GOP holds every elected office in county government, other than one seat on the board of commissioners that is mandated by law to be held by the minority party.

According to most recent statistics, Republicans account for more more than half of the county’s 244,000 registered voters. Democrats represent just more than 37% of Westmoreland’s electorate.

“If they (Democrats) were spending a million dollars, maybe they would be competitive, but who is spending that?” Balya said.

Kertes and Chew are seeking second terms on Nov. 7. Kopas was appointed as a commissioner in August after Thrasher resigned to take a job as a state workers compensation judge. He and Gephart, who joined the race late this summer, are seeking to end the GOP’s majority on the board.

The top three vote-getters will secure seats next year.

Kopas’ campaign, according to his financial report, had less than $27,000 in expenses from September through Oct. 23 and has about $46,000 remaining. Gephart’s political committee raised only $3,300 since she became a candidate in late August and has spent less than $500 over the same period.

Kertes has spent the most — nearly $40,000 — since the start of September in his bid for a second term. According to his financial report, he has $72,435 remaining in his campaign account.

Chew’s campaign report revealed he raised more than $14,000 through donations and was funded with a $152,000 personal loan from the candidate. He reported spending just more than $7,800 for his campaign since the start of September.