Rematch
Write-in campaigns are always difficult no matter the race.
It’s especially difficult after losing a primary election. But that’s what Monessen Mayor Lou Mavrakis is vowing to do after being defeated by Matt Shorraw in the Democratic Party primary election for mayor last month.
Mavrakis announced his plans after a recent Monessen City Council meeting, saying he was looking forward to finishing what he started four years ago when he was first elected.
No Republican ran in the GOP primary for mayor, so it will be Mavrakis and Shorraw squaring off again. However, Mavrakis will have to reverse an ominous trend if he hopes to defeat Shorraw in the November general election.
After defeating incumbent Mary Jo Smith in the 2013 Democrat Party Primary for mayor by a margin of 1,224 to 610, Mavrakis has seen his vote totals plummet in subsequent elections.
He defeated Republican Robert Zynosky Jr. back in the 2013 general election, 1,006 to 661 and then lost to Shorraw by a margin of 733-674.
After the election, Mavrakis admitted that over 500 people who voted for him in 2013 didn’t support him this time around. Mavrakis blamed some of the loss on people who didn’t bother voting because they thought he was a “shoo-in.”
While that might be debatable, there’s no doubt that Mavrakis has lost support since 2013. However, voter turnout has also dropped significantly with 1,834 ballots being cast in the 2013 primary and only 1,407 last month. That’s an issue that should concern not just Mavrakis but Shorraw and all residents of Monessen.
Whatever the reason for the decline, Mavrakis will undoubtedly have to get more people to the polls if he wants to defeat Shorraw.
Mavrakis did gain some national attention by inviting Donald Trump to campaign in the city last year. However, Mavrakis downplayed his support for Trump, noting that he never even met him. Mavrakis said he invited several national politicians to come to the city, but Trump was the only one who came. Mavrakis said he voted for himself as president rather than Trump.
Overall, Mavrakis ran a luckluster campaign last month even refusing to appear with Shorraw at a candidates’ forum. He talked about bringing financial stability to Monessen but spoke little about his plans for the future of city.
Shorraw, on the other hand, was very open about his plans to revive the city, noting he wanted to focus on the downtown area from Fourth to Ninth streets.
“I want to see things improve and I want to do what I can to make things better,” Shorraw said. “Everyone has their own projects they want to focus on. We all want the same thing, which is to make Monessen better,”
A graduate of Monessen High School, where he serves as assistant band director, Shorraw, 25, serves on a number of community groups and organizations. For his efforts Shorraw was recognized in 2016 as a Community Partner of the Year by the Mon Valley Initiative for his volunteer work in the city of Monessen.
“I’ve always been involved in different groups in Monessen and I feel at this point in time the city needs energy and it seems like the right thing to do for me,” said Shorraw.
It’s clear that Shorraw’s stock is on the rise, and Mavrakis will have his hands full in trying to win the rematch.