Norwin area GOP dominates general election

The Norwin area Republican party exerted its dominance in the municipal and Norwin School Board races in Tuesday’s election as every candidate who only appeared on the Democratic ticket lost, according to unofficial results.

“It all went along party lines. We are not voting for the candidates. We are voting for the (party) affiliation,” said Catherine Forsythe of North Huntingdon, co-chairperson of the Norwin Area Democratic Committee.

“I thought we (the electorate) were more in touch with the candidates. We’re losing touch with the real issues, with what the incumbents have done, or not done,” Forsythe said, in explaining the Democrats’ several defeats at the polls.

But, to Steve Cleaveland, chairman of the Norwin Area Republican Committee, the election victories were the result of running strong candidates and having a lot of workers at the polling places.

The Norwin School Board race is a prime example of the power the GOP in the Norwin area. The Republican committee focused on the school board race, as well as the North Huntingdon commissioners race in the 7th Ward, Cleaveland said.

“We found good candidates” and worked hard, Cleaveland said.

As a result, Republicans Darlene Ciocca, Robert Wayman and Joanna Jordan won three of the five school board seats. Democrats Patrick Lynn and William Essay won the other two seats, based on unofficial results.

“I’m very pleased that there is a strong conservative majority in our local government and in the county,” Jordan said.

Republican incumbent Tracey Czajkowski won only on the Democratic ticket in the May primary, while Democratic incumbent William Essay, ran as a Republican because of the primary. Czajkowski lost as a Democrat and Essay won as a Republican.

“That is the only reason she lost,” Forsythe said of Czajkowski, who came in last among seven school board candidates.

Essay said he “absolutely” believed his name on the Republican ticket helped him win the election.

Czajkowski, who could not be reached for comment, did not get the Republican committee’s endorsement, Cleaveland said.

Democrat Kimberly McCann Piekut, a South Allegheny teacher, came in just ahead of the Czajkowski, but a distance behind Robert Wayman, an Irwin Republican who secured a seat with the fifth-highest vote total.

Lynn was the leading vote-getter in the election, but his name was on both tickets in the election.

Voters, particularly those living on fixed income such as Social Security, were upset that the school board voted in October to borrow $10 million through a bond issue, and likely will spend about a $1 million on renovating and upgrading the high school pool, Cleaveland said. They also are “upset at the tax increase going to the maximum level,” each year, Cleaveland said.

“That’s why a lot of people voted straight ticket,” for the Republicans, Cleaveland said.

Essay agreed with Cleaveland that there likely were a number of straight party voters, but disagreed that it was because of the pending bond issue or the tax increases.

In North Huntingdon’s 7th Ward commissioners race, incumbent Democrat Duane Kucera narrowly lost to Republican Eric Gass, an Army major.

Gass said he believed that voters are tired of the Democrats, on the national level, bashing the Republicans and that prompted some Republicans to turn out to vote.

“This has got to stop,” said Gass.

Kucera could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In Irwin, Republican Jeff Clem, who ran for Irwin council on the Democratic ticket, narrowly lost to Republican Councilman Mike Yunn. Clem got on the ballot through a write-in campaign in the primary.

Cleaveland said he believed the shift in the Norwin area from a Democratic stronghold occurred in the 1990s and, now, the parties are about even in voter registration. Forsythe said she believed it started during the administration of Ronald Reagan, who was president from 1981 through 1988.

“The parties change over time,” Cleaveland noted.