Josh Maxwell gets Dem nod for Chesco commissioner; Cozzone fails to get endorsement.
Incumbent Commissioner Kathi Cozzone fails to capture party’s endorsement
WESTTOWN >> Official nods for countywide races in the upcoming Democratic Party primary went to the mayor of Downingtown and two sitting district judges running for Common Pleas Court, but not to the three-term incumbent Chester County commissioner.
Josh Maxwell, who has served as mayor of the county’s third most populated borough for three consecutive terms, was the only one of four candidates for commissioner to win the endorsement of the Democratic Committee members at the party’s nomination convention on Tuesday.
Maxwell topped the voting on the second ballot of the night for the county’s top elected official, with 66 percent, 1 percent more than was necessary for the committee’s support, according to a press release issued by the party.
Meanwhile, Kathi Cozzone, who has served as commissioner since 2008 and as vice chairwoman of the three-member board in successive years, failed to capture the party’s endorsement.
She and Tredyffrin businesswoman Marian Moskowitz went through three ballots with neither capturing the needed votes to win the nod, with West Whiteland businesswoman and anti-pipeline activist Ginny Kerslake dropping from the balloting after failing to capture enough votes to move to the third round.
Now, all four are expected to run for the position in the May 21 primary, but with Maxwell the only candidate to have the committee’s endorsement, which carries with it promotional and manpower support.
The party did endorse candidates for Common Pleas Court judge, district attorney, recorder of deeds, and sheriff, but failed to give nods to candidates running for prothonotary and register of wills.
Analisa Sondergaard of Tredyffrin and Bret Binder of East Bradford, both current magistrates in Tredyffrin and West Chester, respectively, won endorsement for Common Pleas judge, besting Matthew Holt of Tredyffrin, former Magisterial District Judge Daniel Maisano of Kennett, and Thomas McCabe of Newlin.
Deborah Ryan, a former prosecutor from Birmingham, and attorney Christopher Pielli, a supervisor from West Goshen, won unanimous endorsements as uncontested candidates for district attorney and recorder of deeds, respectively.
Finally, attorney Fredda Maddox of Birmingham won a second ballot endorsement for county sheriff over current Deputy Sheriff Joseph Lunsford of East Fallowfield.
The committee deadlocked on giving any endorsement in the races for register of wills, where former party chairwoman Michelle Vaughn of East Whiteland faced off against party activist Lisa Longo, and prothonotary, as well as two newcomers, Joseph Heffern of East Fallowfield and Debbie Bookman of Coatesville. All can now appear on the May ballot.
Maxwell is a well-known candidate for voters in the central part of the county, having won elections for mayor three times, and also run for state representative on four occasions, each unsuccessfully. As mayor, he has touted accomplishments including a transit revitalization project and Amtrak/SEPTA station, requiring police officers to be trained on resources available to survivors of domestic violence, and supporting non-discrimination ordinances for the borough’s LGBTQ community
A graduate of West Chester University and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a master’s degree, he is married to the author Blair Thornburgh, the granddaughter of former Republican Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh. His background also includes a 2011 arrest for driving under the influence, for which he was admitted into the county’s alternative sentencing program for first offenders.
The convention came as a disappointment for Cozzone, who is seeking her fourth term for the commissioners position. It also comes after she lost her quest to win the nomination as lieutenant governor in 2018, to the eventual election winner, current officeholder John Fetterman.
According to the party’s press announcement, the convention featured a standing-room only crowd of hundreds at Stetson Middle School, with many of the candidates remarking that the high turnout could be “reflective of the high energy in the Democratic Party across the whole county.”
Noted committee Chairman Dick Bingham, “The ripple effect for change from one-party rule, began in 2017 when we elected four county Row Officers. Last year Chester County voters chose to go ‘blue’ — electing six Democrats of the nine state Representative seats and sending the first Democrat to Congress from the 6th District.”
“That enthusiasm has spread to a record number of Democrats filing petitions for their local school board and to run as township supervisors,” Bingham said. “History is poised to be made again this fall as more women, minorities and first-time candidates step up to serve their communities.”