Vicites jumps ahead, never looks back
Challenger J. William Lincoln led incumbent Sean M. Cavanagh by 985 votes with 102 of 105 precincts counted in the bid to earn the second Democratic nomination on the fall ballot for Fayette County commissioner. With only three precincts remaining to be counted late Tuesday night, it appeared that Lincoln’s lead was insurmountable, giving him a victory that likely sends Cavanagh to the sidelines of elected office for the first time in eight years.
Incumbent Chairman Vincent A. Vicites staked out a solid lead early on and never looked back, making most of the Tuesday night nail biting a Lincoln-Cavanagh affair. But Lincoln was in the driver’s seat early on and never relinquished that lead, with Cavanagh nudging closer and then losing ground in a seesaw momentum as results came in.
A moderate surprise was a stronger-than-expected showing by newcomer Vincent Zapotosky, who didn’t trail Lincoln and Cavanagh by much for most of the night and consistently ran ahead of incumbent Ronald M. Nehls. At one point, Zapotosky edged ahead of Cavanagh, but that situation quickly reversed.
While Cavanagh, Lincoln and Zapotosky were slugging it out in the equivalent of professional wrestling’s Texas death match, Vicites, 42, easily cruised to his party’s third straight nomination as the top Democratic vote getter.
In a surprisingly strong showing, Zapotosky, 39, a 10-year congressional aide, ran ahead of Nehls all night and for a long time wasn’t far off the pace set by Lincoln, who ran slightly ahead of Cavanagh most of the evening but pulled away near the end.
As predicted by most political observers, Nehls, 65, shorn early of party chairman Fred L. Lebder’s political support, brought up the rear and trailed the leaders by a considerable margin. Lincoln’s strong showing was in many ways a testament to the continued strength of Lebder, his mentor and staunch ally.
With 102 of 105 precincts, or 97 percent, reporting, the unofficial vote total was: Vicites 13,098, Lincoln 8,870, Cavanagh 7,885, Zapotosky 7,415 and Nehls 4,745.
Translated as a percentage of the vote, it was Vicites 31 percent, Lincoln 21 percent, Cavanagh 19 percent, Zapotosky 18 percent and Nehls 11 percent. Those figures remained fairly consistent throughout the tally, and were identical to the percentages when only 77 percent of the precincts had reported.
Although the five-way race featured three Democratic incumbents seeking two available party nominations, Vicites emerged early on as a heavy favorite for re-election. The real battle then became Cavanagh versus Lincoln in what shaped up as a de facto referendum on Lebder’s decades-long legacy.
Cavanagh, at 37 still the youngest candidate in the field despite being a two-term incumbent, linked the 62-year-old retired state senator to Lebder, who remains chairman of the county’s Democratic Party after retiring as a commissioner in 1995 after 28 years in that office.
Cavanagh in newspaper advertisements and on the campaign trail called the Lebder-Lincoln legacy one of high crime, high unemployment and high poverty, and cited a list of progressive measures underway since both men left elected office.
The feisty Lincoln joined Lebder in mounting an advertising campaign of their own, claiming that crime increased during Cavanagh’s tenure and that Fayette County’s unemployment rate remains higher than surrounding counties.
Lincoln also ran advertisements reminding voters of the rough-and-tumble style that characterized Cavanagh’s first term in office, when he had two fistfights with fellow Commissioner Harry E. Albert III. Cavanagh has long maintained that those altercations were part of a concerted attempt by Albert and others to cover up voter fraud at personal care homes, an issue Cavanagh exposed during his first term in office.
Cavanagh stressed his role as a government watchdog and a champion of open government, in addition to citing numerous accomplishments and his close relationship to U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown).
Political observers in recent weeks characterized the race for the second Democrat nomination a virtual dead heat between Cavanagh and Lincoln, with various polls showing the race too close to call. In those polls, Zapotosky was close enough to remain a factor.
Although widely considered a shoo-in for renomination, Vicites took nothing for granted, working as diligently as ever to get out a message that he’s done good things for the county and even more are in store.
Zapotosky, amiable and well-spoken, started out strong and never faded too far from the pack.
While few considered him a serious contender this time around, a generally good reception in his first foray into the public spotlight has fueled some speculation that he may run again for another office.
Nehls, cast adrift by one-time backers Lebder and Uniontown businessman/philanthropist Robert E. Eberly, decided to run for re-election on his own.
His campaign centered on a “leadership above politics” theme and he often recited a long list of accomplishments during his four-year tenure.
Nehls starting out in last place and stayed there. Although his campaign seemed to gain steam during recent weeks, most political observers had viewed Nehls only as a spoiler capable of helping decide the outcome by taking votes away from others in the field.