Write-in candidates win 2 seats on Greater Latrobe school board

Two write-in candidates won seats on the Greater Latrobe School Board, according to unofficial results released Thursday by the Westmoreland County Election Bureau.

Write-in John Petrarca finished third in the race for five, four-year terms on the board, and write-in Tom Gockel finished fifth.

Out of the five winners, only one is an incumbent. Merle L. Musick, who was on the Republican slate and will serve his fourth term on the board, received the largest number of votes with 5,309.

Musick, 60, of Latrobe voted against the district’s multi­million-dollar revitalization plan that will raise taxes through 2039.

John Urban, a newcomer, came in second with 4,937 votes. Urban, 71, of Unity initially cross-filed but ended up on the Democratic ticket. He’s a registered Republican.

Petrarca, 64, of Latrobe, a registered Republican, received 2,998 votes. He said the revitalization project and other recent issues were catalysts for the large number of write-in votes cast.

In fourth place, Bradley Toman, also a newcomer on the ballot alongside Urban, received 2,979 votes. Toman, 39, of Unity cross-filed and didn’t take a stance on the revitalization project before the Nov. 7 election.

The second write-in candidate, Gockel, received 2,939 votes. Gockel, 50, of Latrobe is a registered Republican.

Incumbents who did not win reelection included Eric Hauser with 2,784 votes, Susan Mains with 2,740 votes and Michael Zorch with 2,699. All voted in favor of the district’s revitalization plan, and Hauser is the outgoing president of the board.

Write-in votes accounted for more than 24% of the 28,396 votes cast in the Latrobe race.

The election board will issue a precertification of the vote at its meeting Nov. 20. Voters can then challenge the results in court before a final certification is issued Nov. 27.