Jefferson Hills Council race comes down to 1 vote

The recent Jefferson Hills Borough Council race proved that every vote does count.

One vote could be the difference in who wins the third of three open four-year seats on borough council, according to the latest results released on Nov. 20 by the Allegheny County Elections Division, which puts Democrat Keith Reynolds up by one vote ahead of Republican Melissa Girman Steffey to claim that final seat.

In the latest results, Reynolds has 1,174 votes, while Steffey has 1,173 votes. For more than a week after the election, the two candidates were listed as tied for the seat.

“It really does come down to the old saying, ‘Every vote counts.’ If this doesn’t prove it, I don’t know what does,” Steffey said, indicating that she was disappointed with voter turnout in the borough, where less than 10 percent of Jefferson Hills voters showed up to the polls on Nov. 5. She was grateful, however, for those that did show up to support her.

Democrats Karen Bucy and Nicole Ruscitto received 1,299 votes and 1,258 votes, respectively, to claim the first two open seats on borough council.

The numbers are not final until certified by the Allegheny County Elections Division on Nov. 25. Candidates have the chance to challenge the results until that time.

Steffey said on Nov. 20 that she did not plan to challenge the results.

“At this point, I don’t want to further anything else as far as a challenge,” she said.

Reynolds, when reached by phone on Nov. 21, was hesitant to declare victory until the votes were certified. Although, he expressed gratitude for every voter that showed up to support him.

Each person — from the sick old man who showed up to the polls just to vote for him to his nephew who’s away at college and mailed in an absentee ballot — represents that one vote that could make the difference, Reynolds said.

“If I could, I’d go out there and shake the hands of all 1,174 of them,” he said. “There’s a face to every one of them.”

With a number of issues ongoing in Jefferson Hills, this election cycle brought out a number of candidates seeking change in the borough. A field of eight candidates in the May Primary was narrowed down to six for the November general election.

Public safety was at the forefront of many candidates’ platforms.

The results came in election night showing Steffey ahead, she said. She woke up at 3 a.m. to see that they shifted and the candidates were listed as tied.

After every municipal election, the law requires a recount of every precinct in what is known as the return board process, said David Voye, Allegheny County elections division manager.

Through that process, the tie in Jefferson Hills was broken.

However, objections seeking an official recount can be filed in the Court of Common Pleas from Nov. 20-25, Voye said.

If results are tied on Nov. 25, the tie is broken in Allegheny County by the casting of lots.

The county has a leather pill bottle filled with wooden pallets numbered from one to 51. Each candidate pulls a number and the one with the highest number wins.

This process happens more often than you might think.

“Every municipal election there’s at least one,” Voye said. “I have heard stories that in Vegas, they cut the deck and the high card wins.”

Steffey has had time to process the situation.

“I’ve had a week to let it set in. I’m not crushed by it. I’m disappointed. I’ll just keep continuing to serve as much as possible on the recreation board,” she said.

She would have liked to see more people come out, she reiterated.

Reynolds said he’s appreciative for every person who supported him, Bucy and Ruscitto.

“It’s a special day, as we look forward to our future in Jefferson Hills,” he said, calling this a “new era” for the borough. “We’re going to make it the No. 1 place to live again.”