North Huntingdon ex-commissioner wins GOP nomination in 4th Ward
Voters in North Huntingdon’s Fourth Ward opted to give the Republican nomination to a former commissioner over the incumbent, a reversal of the 2017 race between the same two candidates, according to unofficial results from the May 18 primary.
Former commissioner Richard Gray, 63, is leading incumbent Brian Blasko, 35, capturing 64% of the 716 votes, compared to Blasko’s 36%.
Gray, a technician for Verizon, is seeking his fifth term on the board, while Blasko, a Yough School District teacher, was seeking his second term. Blasko announced he would limit himself to two terms on the board. In the 2017 election, Blasko edged Gray in the Republican primary and narrowly beat him when Gray ran as a write-in candidate.
Whether Gray has an opponent in November depends on the count of 233 write-in votes.
Republican Commissioner Zachary Haigis, who is board president, faced no opposition in the primary in the Second Ward. Republican Lyndsay Wengrzyn was unopposed in the Republican primary in the Sixth Ward when incumbent Fran Bevan withdraw her name from the ballot.
No Democrat was on the ballot in the three commissioner races.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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