May 22, 2013 By Patty Yauger pyauger@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

A Uniontown woman was the top vote-getter Tuesday, likely giving her the Democratic nomination in the Fayette County prothonotary race should the figures remain intact.

Nina Capuzzi Frankhouser, a Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office employee, outpaced her opponents by a 200-vote margin, according to unofficial results posted by the county election bureau at press time.

Capuzzi Frankhouser, along with three others, was seeking to fill the 2-year unexpired term of former Prothonotary Lance Winterhalter, who retired last year after serving 22 years in the position.

Rose Kern, the office chief deputy, has filled the position temporarily since June.

In addition to Capuzzi Frankhouser, the candidates included Pamela L. Hudson of Smock, Paul Shipley of Uniontown and Robert Ted Pritchard of Fairchance. There were no Republican candidates on the ballot.

With 93 of 98 precincts reporting results, Capuzzi Frankhouser garnered 4,549 votes in her bid for the post.

A current county jury commissioner, Hudson received 4,142 votes, according to unofficial results.

Shipley, a current CSX freight engineer, garnered 3,671 votes.

Pritchard, who has sought several public offices over the years, lost in his first bid for the prothonotary position, garnering only 828 votes.

The prothonotary is the chief clerk and record keeper for all filings related to civil cases, including equity action, judgments, federal and local tax liens, city and municipal liens, family court matters, arbitrations, license suspension appeals, appeals to higher courts, naturalization searches and applications for passports. The prothonotary’s office also issues writs and processes many other legal documents, reviewing pleadings for compliance with Pennsylvania rules of civil procedure and Fayette County Court rules, according to the county website.

Over the past few months, Capuzzi Frankhouser, Hudson and Shipley spent much of their time defending their right to appear on the ballot.

Shortly after his challengers had presented their petitions to appear on the ballot, Pritchard challenged certain aspects of each of the filings and asked that the Court of Common Pleas review the information. All three objections were denied by separate judges.

Pritchard appealed the decisions to Commonwealth Court, where Capuzzi Frankhouser and Hudson survived the appeals.

Pritchard again appealed the matter to the state Supreme Court, which declared that it would not hear the appeals.

A Commonwealth Court judge remanded Shipley’s case back to Fayette County, where the objection was again denied. Pritchard again appealed the decision regarding Shipley’s petitions to Commonwealth Court, which later affirmed the county court ruling.

Capuzzi Frankhouser, meanwhile, will likely be the only candidate on the November ballot, barring a write-in campaign.