Judge rules in write-in dispute
Larry P. Williams, Larry Williams, L. Williams or even just Williams, all count for the incumbent Redstone Township supervisor as Republican write-in votes. That was the ruling Thursday afternoon by Fayette County Judge Ralph Warman in the petition to allow the vote for L. Williams to be counted in the race. The unofficial election results showed Williams as the winner of the Democratic nomination over challenger Dan Yocabet with a tally of 460 to 445 votes. Both men had also run write-in campaigns for the Republican nomination and the results initially showed them tied with 21 votes each.
Lori Lint, executive director of the Fayette County Election Bureau, testified that after reviewing the voter registration for Redstone Township, she found that there was only one L. Williams registered and now feels that the vote under Williams’ initial should be counted.
Warman took the issue a step further, ruling that under Pennsylvania case law, the vote that only used the surname “Williams” should also be counted, since he was the only person with that name seeking a public office in the township.
“In this case, Larry P. Williams has been a supervisor for three terms and was running on the ballot. He was actively campaigning as a write-in candidate,” Warman said. “We would say that both of these votes should be accumulated.”
The judge’s ruling gives Williams a 23-21 edge for the Republican nomination. If the case had gone against Williams, the candidates would have drawn numbered balls to determine the winner of the tie, with the lowest number drawn winning the nomination.
“I’m elated to be nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties,” Williams said.
Brownsville Mayor Lewis Hosler is still waiting to hear whether he has won his petition for votes using variations of his name to be counted. The final count by the election bureau showed Hosler with 17 write-in votes for the Republican nomination to Lester Ward’s 25 votes. Hosler is asking that several variations of his name be counted, which would give him the lead in the race. Judge Gerald Solomon heard the case Thursday morning. Lint testified that there are at least six people named Hosler on the voter registration for Brownsville Borough, including Hosler’s son, who is Lewis Wilson Hosler Jr. Lint testified that the candidate was officially listed as Lewis W. Hosler, and those are the write-in votes that she counted.
Hosler testified that he campaigned for about two and a half months prior to the primary election, going door-to-door, soliciting Republican write-in votes as well as Democratic votes. He said he felt he was well known in the borough.
“A lot of people know me as Lew Hosler or Mayor Hosler. I’ve lived there 65 years,” Hosler said.
Hosler said he was the only member of his family who appeared on the ballot.
“My wife is a judge of elections and as such, was written in,” Hosler said.
He noted that his son’s name is identical to his, except for the designation of “junior.”
Ward testified, acting as his own attorney. Ward said he consulted the election bureau before launching his write-in campaign.
“I was told I could use Lester J. Ward or Lester Ward, but whichever I chose, I had to live or die by it, those were the rules of engagement,” Ward testified.
Ward noted that Hosler’s son works for the borough and is also well known throughout the community as Lew Hosler, one of the names written as a Republican nomination.
“If I saw them in town, I would know the difference. If I saw it in writing, I wouldn’t be able to distinguish between them.”
Solomon declined closing arguments in the case, saying he would hand down an order after further review.