Greene County election certified
WAYNESBURG — The Greene County Election Board on Monday certified the election results of the Nov. 8 municipal election, and the outcomes of various county races on the ballot remained the same.
In the race for county commissioner, Democratic incumbents Pam Snyder and Charles Morris and Republican incumbent Archie Trader still received the highest amount of votes in the election. The incumbents were three of the four candidates on the ballot in the race for commissioner. The fourth candidate, Republican challenger Richard Yeager, finished fourth in total votes.
Voters from all 44 precincts were asked to cast their ballots for not more than any two of the four candidates, regardless of their party affiliation.
According to the certified results, Snyder, who was seeking re-election for her third term as commissioner, led the candidates with 4,089 votes. Trader received 3,573 votes, while Morris finished with 3,195 votes and Yeager tallied 3,009 votes.
Trader was seeking re-election for his second term as commissioner, and Morris was seeking his first full term. Morris received a court appointment last year after former commissioner Dave Coder resigned to accept a job on the staff of U.S. Mark S. Critz, D-Johnstown.
The certification means that Snyder and Morris will retain the Democratic majority on the board of commissioners, while Trader will serve as the Republican minority commissioner.
The results of other county offices up for grabs in the election also remained unchanged.
In the district attorney’s race, Democratic incumbent Marjorie Fox defeated Republican challenger David J. Russo for a four-year term in office. According to the certified results, Fox received 4,513 votes while Russo received 2,896 votes.
The treasurer’s race featured Democratic incumbent Cory L. Grandel, who has held the office since 2004, and Republican challenger Daniel M. Alexander. Grandel handily defeated Alexander, receiving 5,162 votes to his opponent’s 2,173 votes.
The closest race of the election was for the clerk of courts office, in which Republican candidate Sherry Wise defeated Democratic candidate Robin Ketchem. Wise tallied 3,785 votes, while Ketchem received 3,673 votes.
Ketchem won the Democratic nomination in the May primary after defeating Wise; however, Wise secured enough write-ins for the Republican nomination in the primary, enabling her to face off against Ketchem in the November election.
Incumbent candidates also ran unopposed for four-year terms in the offices of controller, prothonotary and register and recorder.
Democratic Controller Dave Balint, Democratic Prothonotary Susan Kartley White and Register and Recorder Thomas Headlee, who ran on both party tickets, were unopposed on the ballot. According to the certified results, Balint received 5,629 votes, White received 6,154 votes and Headlee received 6,903 votes.
Two incumbent magisterial district judges also ran unopposed on the ballot after winning their respective nominations on both of the Democratic and Republican ballots in the primary election. For District 13-3-01, Lou Dayich received a total of 1,763 votes and for District 13-3-02, Glenn Bates received a total of 2,933 votes.
For a 10-year term as Common Pleas Court judge, incumbent Farley Toothman ran unopposed on both party ballots. Toothman, who was appointed to the seat in July 2009, defeated two challengers in the primary. According to the certified results, he received 6,301 total votes in last month’s election.
The municipal election ballot also featured local races for school board directors, township supervisors, borough council members and auditors, as well as retentions for various state judges.
Numerous races were won by write-in votes, including school board seats for Central Greene and West Greene school districts, as well as auditors’ and tax collectors positions and borough council seats.
A total of 32 candidates either won their respective race or tied with another candidate, according to the election office.
The certified results regarding these races — and all of the races on the Nov. 8 ballot — may be found on the county’s website, co.greene.pa.us.
Frances Pratt, director of the county election office, said Wednesday that candidates who won their respective races through write-in votes have been sent letters informing them that they won and asking if the candidates are going to accept their respective positions.
The candidates need to respond to their respective school district or municipality as soon as possible, Pratt said. Those who accept their positions will need to file statements of financial interest by Dec. 22 if elected to a municipal office, and by the first week of December if elected to a school board, she added.
The certification of the Nov. 8 election came 12 days after the county election office completed the canvass.
A total of 7,812 out of the 22,320 registered voters in the county — 35 percent — cast their ballots in the Nov. 8 election.