Benyak, Cook apparent winners in 49th District race
Darnell Graham
Melanie Patterson (right), a 49th Legislative District Republican candidate, greets Rolanda Reed as the polling place doors open at the Washington Township Fire Hall on Tuesday morning.
Micheal Vitalbo (left) is greeted by 49th Legislative District Democratic candidate Donn Henderson at the Monongahela Library polling place Tuesday morning.
Robert Kepics (left), 49th Legislative District Democratic candidate, greets Mark Hickman at the Monongahela Elks polling site.
Donald Cook (left), 49th Legislative District Republican candidate, greets Jason Woods just as the doors open at the Washington Township Fire Hall polling place Tuesday morning.
Milan Marinkovich (left) is greeted by 49th Legislative District candidate Alan Benyak, a Democrat, at the Carroll Township Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday morning.
Mark Alterici, Democratic candidate for the 49th Legislative District, shakes hands with Kathleen Mancinelli of Carroll Township outside the Carroll Township Municipal Building on Tuesday.
The announced retirement of state Rep. Peter J. Daley, who has represented the 49th Legislative District for more than 30 years attracted a crowded field in the primary.
The unofficial results Tuesday showed Democrat Alan Benyak and Republican Donald “Bud” Cook as the two who will face off to take over the seat in November.
Six Democrats and two Republicans were vying to represent their parties.
With 166 of 176 Washington County precincts counted and all of the Fayette County precincts reporting, Benyak was more than 870 votes ahead of his nearest competitor, Donn Henderson, with 3,254 votes to Henderson’s 2,383. In the Republican race, it was Cook with 2,622 votes to Melanie Patterson’s 2,228 votes.
Benyak is a Charleroi attorney and U.S. Army veteran. Henderson is the former Charleroi Borough manager who had served two terms as a Fallowfield Township Supervisor.
“I’m overwhelmed and honored by the support of the good people who supported me,” Benyak said. “I look forward to discussing the issues with Bud Cook — blight, the opioid addiction problem, property tax issues.”
Benyak ran against Daley in 1996, but was not able to defeat the incumbent, the same problem Cook had just two years ago when he took on the California Borough resident who has held the office for more than three decades.
“It was a team effort. We started building our team a month after the 2014 election was done,” Cook said. “We’re going to address the problems in the region and the district. Our focus is on the problems, not the person. Our biggest focus right now is on job.”
Cook, who lives in West Pike Run Township, owns an e-marketing business. Tuesday marked Patterson’s first run for office. The Belle Vernon woman is the owner-operator of Broad Innovations, a vacation rental house business. She is a former educator and inventor of disposable bibs and changing pad products.
The district includes portions of Washington and Fayette counties from the Mon Valley to Marianna.
Other Dems vying for the nod were California University of Pennsylvania student Brendan Garay, Monongahela Mayor Bob Kepics, Charleroi businessman Mark Alterici and Coal Center businessman Randy Barli.