Connellsville man’s bid to appear on ballot falls short
Only one name will appear on the Republican ballot in the Connellsville city council race in the November election.
Tim Bechtold, who mounted a write-in campaign in the primary, fell short of the 100 votes needed to become the second name on the ballot, according to the unofficial vote count in the race.
“He had 16 write-ins and a few variations of his name were written in, but he did not come close to getting the minimum number needed to appear on the fall ballot,” said Larry Blosser, Fayette County Election Bureau director on Thursday.
Two seats are available in the upcoming election.
Despite the small number, Bechtold received the second highest number of votes on the GOP ticket. Aaron G. Zolbrod received 263 votes.
On the Democratic ticket, incumbent Councilman Tom Karpiak was the top vote-getter, receiving 563 votes, with Zolbrod 143 votes and Bechtold, 88 votes.
Karpiak’s term expires at the end of the year. Councilwoman Marilyn Weaver has opted not to seek re-election.
Bechtold, a Democrat, had sought to appear on the primary ballot but was deemed ineligible when several signatures on his petition were removed.
In March, Judy Keller, Connellsville city treasurer, challenged 42 of the 124 signatures that appeared on his petition, noting that she believed them to be those of residents living outside the city limits or those that were registered as Republican or unaffiliated voters. Petition signers must be of the same party as the candidate, except when cross-filing is permitted, and then the parties must be separately completed. Only Democrats and Republicans can vote in the primary election.
During a court hearing in the matter, Fayette County Judge Nancy D. Vernon eliminated 34 signatures from the petition and Bechtold’s name from the primary ballot when he fell short of meeting the 100-signature requirement.
The election bureau has yet to certify the final vote count, pending the resolution of several challenges to the numbers.
Supervisor candidates in Bullskin and Dunbar townships, along with a mayoral race in Brownsville Borough, are awaiting hearings to resolve their matters.
On Wednesday, a Court of Common Pleas judge directed a recount of paper ballots in a magisterial district judge race. The recount is to begin today.