Marietta wins re-election to Fayette County recorder of deeds
While Democrats had a successful election Tuesday winning numerous statewide appellate court seats, Republicans in Fayette County had a clean sweep of their own in the county row offices.
Incumbent Recorder of Deeds Jon Marietta Jr. defeated James Santilli by a 52% to 48% margin in the biggest race in the county to serve another four-year term.
“I want to sincerely thank every Fayette County resident who took the time to vote in this election,” Marietta said in a written statement. “This victory is ultimately yours, because we the people made our voices heard loud and clear.”
Marietta said he is now looking ahead to completing the full indexing of property records and finishing the integration with Tyler Technologies by the end of next year, making upgrades to allow for e-recording, faster searches for the public and free deed fraud protection. He said he also wants to expand the “Local Heroes ID Program” and “Veterans ID Program” initiatives.
“Elections are never easy, but healthy competition makes our county stronger,” Marietta said, thanking both his staff and even Santilli for the hardfought campaign. “To those who did not vote for me, I extend an open hand. I will continue to serve every resident of Fayette County with fairness, transparency and integrity.”
Republican Treasurer Melissa Tzan defeated Democrat Matthew Lancaster by a 56% to 44% margin, while Trinette Schmidt-Cunningham will serve as the Democratic jury commissioner and Frank Mutnansky will hold the position of Republican jury commissioner.
Fayette County had a decent turnout Tuesday, getting nearly 39% of the electorate out to vote for the off-year election. All the unofficial election results in Fayette County can be found online at www.fayettecountypa.org/230/Election-Bureau.
In Greene County, Chris Simms won the uncontested election to become the next judge on the Court of Common Pleas to replace President Judge Lou Dayich, who is retiring in January. A listing of all election results in Greene County can be online at www.greenecountypa.gov/elections.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that Trinette Schmidt-Cunningham will serve as the Democratic jury commissioner, while Frank Mutnansky will serve as the Republican jury commissioner. An earlier version incorrectly stated Schmidt-Cunningham lost.