Write-in votes likely will determine whether Irwin will have two candidates for mayor on the ballot in November.
Republican Jeff Clem, a retired prison guard, did not face any opposition in Tuesday’s primary, collecting 268 votes against 69 write-in votes in the unofficial results.
Council member Gail Macioce, also a Republican, who opted not to run for another term on council, mounted a write-in campaign for mayor on both ballots.
No one was on the Democratic ballot for mayor, but there were 158 write-in votes. The count of write-in votes will be certified at a later date.
Mayor William Hawley decided not to run for re-election.
Clem could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Macioce said that the election return sheets at the polling places did not specify who received the write-in was not available for comment.
Although the Westmoreland County elections bureau had a count of the total number of write-in votes after the polls closed on May 18, JoAnn Sebastiani, elections bureau director, said the write-in votes will not be designated for specific candidates for another week. There were a large number of write-in votes this primary, Sebastiani said.
In the race for four seats on borough council, all four Republicans and the two Democrats won their party’s nominations.
Tyler Baum and incumbents Leslie Savage, Frank Rossi and Ron Romeo, all Republicans, will face two Democrats: Courtney Khalouf-Rahuba and Nicholas Powanda. Baum received 275 votes, more votes than any of the six candidates on the ballots.
