North Penn area favors incumbents
LANSDALE » The votes have been cast, the counts are coming in, and the message from voters seems to be clear.
Early vote counts reported by Montgomery County indicate reelections for incumbents nearly across the board, with a handful of exceptions, and roughly 21,000 mail-in ballots across the county still uncounted as of Wednesday afternoon.
LANSDALE
Ward 1 drew the most attention on Tuesday, with three candidates vying for a total of two seats on borough council. The early results from Montgomery County indicate incumbent Democrat Mary Fuller and fellow Democrat Rachael Bollens both prevailed over Republican candidate Yanni Lambros.
Vote counts as of Wednesday had Bollens topping all candidates with 489 votes, then 488 for Fuller and 320 for Lambros, alongside 32 write-in votes.
Elsewhere in the borough, incumbent Democrats Andrew Carroll from Ward 2 and incumbent Carrie Hawkins Charlton and newcomer Mark Ladley from Ward 3 were all elected to four-year terms, and incumbent Mayor Garry Herbert and tax collector Jim Hanratty ran unopposed.
NORTH WALES
Two races drew voters to the polls in North Wales: a rematch for Mayor and a three-way race for council.
Early vote totals indicate the rematch went to the incumbent again, as Democrat Neil McDevitt appears to have fallen just short of incumbent Republican Mayor Greg D’Angelo, four years after a handful of votes gave D’Angelo the victory in 2017.
“We are holding our breaths, keeping fingers crossed, and doing a lot of praying, as we still don’t have final results. My lead after the live vote was 86. With the latest mail-in count, the lead is 14,” D’Angelo said Wednesday afternoon.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, D’Angelo’s vote count was 485 versus 471 to McDevitt, with D’Angelo winning the election day votes by a margin of 433 to 347, but McDevitt topping the mail-in ballots with 124 to 52.
“Four years ago, the vote total was too close to call (seven votes) and we had to wait several days before the absentee ballots could be counted. After those were counted, I was down by five votes total. So, to quote the great Yogi Berra, ‘It’s Déjà Vu all over again!’,” McDevitt said Wednesday.
For council, Democrats Alexander Groce and Sarah Whelan and Republican Lisa Vogel all ran for fouryear terms on council from Ward 3, and early vote totals show the pair of Democrats prevailing narrowly.
“Thank you North Wales Borough for your overwhelming vote of support. I am honored and humbled to serve our community as your council member for Ward 2. I look forward to dedicating my youthful energy and vigor to foster a strong sense of community, while providing a voice for all residents of North Wales Borough in the years to come. Let’s do this, together,” Whelan said Wednesday.
County vote totals as of 11 a.m. Wednesday had Whelan topping the three with 149 votes, then Groce with a total of 139 votes, and Vogel trailing with 133 as of that update. Vogel won the in-person votes with a total of 124, according to county reported totals, while Whelan and Groce both drew 41 mail-in votes to nine for Vogel.
“Given my qualifications and campaign efforts, I am feeling disappointed with the final numbers. No matter what the final outcome is, I will remain an active and informed resident, through my ongoing volunteer efforts and continued regular attendance at council meetings,” Vogel said Wednesday.
Elsewhere in town, councilman Eion O’Neil ran with no opposition in Ward 1, and incumbent Sally Neiderhiser and newcomer Johnn Fox ran with no opposition in Ward 3 for fouryear terms.
UPPER GWYNEDD
Two incumbent Democrats were on the ballot for seats on the township’s board of commissioners and only one appears to have won.
Republican challenger Michelle Rupp appears to have won a seat as of Wednesday, with board President Liz McNaney now topping all voters, and current board VP Denise Hull and write-in candidate Fred Hencken trailing.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, McNaney was reported as tops among all four candidates with 1,909 total votes, followed closely by Rupp with 1,892, then Hull with 1,836 and a total of 1,294 write-in votes.
TOWAMENCIN
At least one new supervisor was assured heading into the election, and voters chose only one newcomer: incumbent Republican Dan Bell and newcomer Kristin Warner appear to have fended off Democrat challengers Joyce Snyder and Steven Kulp.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, Warner led all candidates with 2,483 votes cast, followed by Bell with 2,453, then Snyder with 1,785 and Kulp trailing with 1,707.
“Just waiting for the results to get fully tabulated. Most of all, I’m incredibly grateful to all the people who made yesterday a great day overall. Voter turnout was fantastic, the discussions at the polls were awesome, and I’m excited for the partnership to drive our community forward, regardless of the outcome of the elections,” Bell said Wednesday.
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP
Two longtime commissioners were on the ballot, and both look to be headed back to the board, as incumbent Republicans Tom Zipfel and Bob Rodgers faced Democrat challengers Karla D’Alessio and Donald McGowan for fouryear terms.
In vote totals posted Wednesday, Rodgers held a lead over D’Alessio by a margin of 357 votes to 268, with the county’s remaining mail-in votes still pending. In Ward 4, votes counted as of 11 a.m. had Zipfel holding a healthy lead of 648 total votes to 420 for McGowan.
MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP
One current supervisor and one former one were on the ballot, but only one prevailed, as incumbent Democrat Candyce Fluehr Chimera and newcomer Audrey Ware appear to have topped Republican challengers Rick Miniscalco, a former board member, and Joanne Cunningham.
As of 11 a.m., county vote totals had Chimera tops among all four with 3,010 total votes, then Ware with 2,898, followed by Miniscalco with 2,720 and Cunningham with 2,625. As of Wednesday afternoon, the only comment from any of the candidates on the race results was a “Stay tuned” from Ware, referencing the remaining votes yet to be counted.
All results are based on preliminary vote totals announced by Montgomery County officials as of Wednesday and are subject to change pending writein and absentee votes. For more information follow The Reporter on Twitter @ lansreporter.