Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Comitta leads 3-way race in 19th
West Chester legislator Carolyn Comitta appeared to take a commanding lead Tuesday in the three-way race to claim the Democratic Party’s mantle to replace longtime state Sen. Andrew Dinniman on the ballot come November, although the dynamics of this unusual primary made settling on a final outcome problematic.
The Democratic Party’s nomination race for the 19th state Senate District seat in Chester County, the largest of the county’s four such districts, pitted Comitta against Tredyffrin-Easttown School Board member Kyle Boyer and Senate staff member Don Vymazal — all of whom have campaign experience, but not like this.
With 109 of the district’s 117 precincts counted as of 11 p.m., or 93% of the total, Comitta led the field with 8,149 votes, or 55% of the total, to Vymazal’s 4,501 votes, or 30%, and Boyer’s 2,041, or 13%.
Those preliminary vote totals, however significant, counted only in-person voting and not the new mail-in ballots that were featured for the first time this election. In the county, almost 90,000 of the county’s 359,000-plus voters asked for a mail-in ballot prior to the May 26 deadline, with 63,681 of those coming from registered Democrats; 71,350 were returned
as of 8 p.m. Tuesday.
All vote totals are unofficial until certified by the Chester County Board of Elections and may not reflect the final tallies of absentee or “no-excuse” voteby-mail ballots that will be tabulated late Tuesday and finalized in the coming days, according to a county spokeswoman.
The votes counted in the early going showed a significant drop in turnout across the county compared with past years, which was expected overall — not only because of the lack of a contest for the presidential primary on both tickets, but because of a dearth of contests on the Republican Party ticket and, most of all, continued concern over the COVID-19 crisis in the county.
Some populated precincts, such as one in East Bradford, showed only 58 votes cast Tuesday from in-person balloting, for example. In vote-rich West Whiteland, the 4th precinct recorded only 125 voters Tuesday. There are 81,269 registered Democrats in the district overall. Countywide turnout Tuesday struggled to get above 10% among in-person voters.
Comitta, the incumbent state representative for the 156th Legislative District, appeared to have won precincts not only in her hometown of West Chester, but also in places like East Whiteland, West Whiteland, Downingtown, East Bradfoed, West Bradford and multiple municipalities in southern and western Chester County. Boyer’s wins came mostly in his home turf of Tredyffrin, while Vymazal’s strength was the area around Phoenixville, his home and in Coatesville.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face London Grove Supervisor Kevin Runey, who ran unopposed on the Republican ticket.
The unusual “coronavirus campaign” began in early February when Dinniman, of West Whiteland, made the surprise announcement that he had decided not to seek another term to the seat he had held since 2006. He cited a desire to concentrate on his family life as he enters his late 70s.
Dinniman was quick to announce his support for Vymazal, his longtime assistant who holds the title of government relations and policy director. The Chester County Democratic Committee, later in February, gave its endorsement to Vymazal over Boyer and Comitta.
The 19th District is the largest of the four state Senate districts in the county, its boundaries holding 40 of the county’s 73 municipalities, from the rural areas of southern Chester County to urban areas including Coatesville, West Chester and Phoenixville and suburban strongholds like Tredyffrin and East and West Goshen.
In recent interviews, the three candidates were asked about their public accomplishments, what set them apart from others in the field, and their legislative priorities.
Boyer, 32, is a teacher in the Norristown Area School District. An ordained minister at the Mt. Carmel Church of God In Christ, he also serves as the president of the West Chester NAACP.
“I feel that people are receptive to having someone go to Harrisburg to fight for our public schools, our public health system and for criminal justice reform,” he said. “I am most proud of the way we have worked to make (the T-E) school system work as an equitable place, not only for students but for staff and teachers. We have made sure everybody is able to access programs that will help them succeed.”
He vowed to focus on reforming the state’s funding formula for public schools, increasing money for special education and the way charter schools are reimbursed, which he argued negatively affect districts like the Coatesville Area School District. Those payments, he said, “are draining school district’s budgets.”
But he also emphasized that he would fight “for the environment and environmental safety. “People in Chester County care about the pipelines that are running through their backyards,” Boyer said.
Comitta, 68, has served as state representative for the West Chester area since 2017, after having served two terms as mayor of West Chester and a member of the borough council. She worked as a teacher of special education and gifted students in the Octorara Area School District for 12 years and for her family planning business.
Supported by Gov. Tom Wolf for the Senate seat and a number of organizations, she is also running for re-nomination for her 156th House District seat. Should she win the Senate race, she is expected to withdraw from the Legislative District election, and another candidate appointed by the Chester County Democratic Committee will replace her.
She said she views her work in office as a “collaborating problems solver,” citing work she did in bringing together a number of factions in the battle over the Mariner East Pipeline construction project.
“By nature, I am a collaborator and a listener,” she said.
Efforts she made had led to work on writing safety regulations for future pipeline projects, she said.
“We need to have the safest pipelines possible, and nothing works better than getting a diverse group of people in the same room and talk through a problem,” she said.
“I think it is so important for people to have a voice in the public area, and feel that they have a seat at the table. I also think it is important to have a varied experience and to have shown leadership, now more than ever.”
Vymazal, 38, is a graduate of Gettysburg College and West Chester University, where he teaches as an adjunct professor. As Dinniman’s staff liaison and aide since 2006, he has worked on a host of public projects with community, business, nonprofit and government groups. He is a member of the Phoenixville Planning Commission.
“I view my professional career as being dedicated to public services,” he said, focusing his work on “grassroots projects at the community level. And I think I have built up trust and a good reputation over the past 15 years. I want to continue to do the good work we’ve done in Chester County.”
In addition to working with Dinniman in the fight against the Mariner East pipeline projects in the Public Utility Commission and in court, Vymazal also cited his efforts to bring transportation projects along the Amtrak line in Paoli, Downingtown and Coatesville to completion.
Most of all, he said his goal would be to increase a sense of public participation in government. “It often feels that the state is not taking (public input on various matters) into consideration,” he said. Helping the public to provide input is important, he said. “If not, that does serious harm to the trust we have to have in government.”
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.