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Harris loses on both parties' tickets

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

By James O'Toole, Post-Gazette Politics Editor

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Max Baer is headed to a statewide showdown with a former colleague, Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin, after a primary election that also brought new faces to Pittsburgh's City Council and the prospect of major change to the city's fractious school board.

	More Primary 2003 Coverage • Pittsburgh School Board president defeated • Baer to face Melvin in Supreme Court race • Allegheny County Council: Races produce few surprises • Mt. Lebanon attorney wins Democratic nod for county controller • Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas: Wecht winning on both tickets • Pittsburgh City Council: Ravenstahl ousts incumbent Burns • Regional School Board Races: Newcomers, incumbents win • Competition stiff for district justice seats • Allegheny County: McKeesport's mayor beaten • Armstrong County: Commission incumbents renominated • Butler County: Incumbent commissioners lead the way • Fayette millionaire a winner in GOP race • Washington County: Burns, Maggi win Democratic commissioner nods • Westmoreland County: Both incumbent commissioners maintain Democrat stranglehold Follow the voting with links to Allegheny County and other regional election sites for online access to final unofficial results: Allegheny County Beaver County Butler County Fayette County Greene County Washington County Westmoreland County. Click here to download a .detailed pdf file of unofficial primary voting results for Allegheny and Westmoreland counties published in the late edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. Tables with primary results for Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties will be published in Thursday print editions of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Melvin was unopposed for the Republican nomination for the state Supreme Court yesterday while Baer raced to a wide lead in the unofficial returns in the five-candidate Democratic race.

Last night's results in the city of Pittsburgh created the potential for a new working majority school board. In a major upset, Patrick Dowd, 35, of Highland Park, defeated board President Darlene Harris, 50, of Spring Hill, in the Democratic and Republican primaries for the District 2 seat.

Dowd's win virtually ensures a shift in the balance of power on the board, which for the past year and a half has been controlled by a five-member majority that included Harris.

Other Pittsburgh results will bring two new members to City Council -- one the winner of a special election and the other an upset winner over Democratic incumbent Barbara Burns.

In Allegheny County, the top races on each party's ballot were uncontested. Jim Roddey, the incumbent Republican chief executive, and his November opponent, Controller Dan Onorato, now formally begin their general election campaign.

That left the Democratic primary for Onorato's current job with the highest local profile. Mark Patrick Flaherty, the son of former county Commissioner Jim Flaherty, easily won the Democratic nomination over Larry Dunn, the former Republican county commissioner, and the Rev. James Simms, the former president of County Council. Flaherty will face Republican Joe Scioscia in the fall.

Former county Councilwoman Eileen Wagner defeated Jeff Woodard for the Democratic nomination for recorder of deeds. The other row office incumbents, all Democrats, won easily. They will all be heavily favored over their GOP challengers, who were unopposed.

Two County Council incumbents survived competitive challenges. They were David Fawcett, who holds the Republican at-large seat, and Councilwoman Brenda Frazier, the Democrat incumbent in District 13.

In an open seat on council's District 6, Joan Cleary, a registered nurse from Brentwood, defeated Dominic C. Serapiglia, and Joseph P. Rudolph. Cleary will face Linda J. Book, who was unopposed on the Republican side.

Bill Robinson, the former state legislator and city councilman, made a political comeback, winning the Democratic nomination in District 10, a seat for which there will be no Republican candidate in November

Judge David Wecht's election to a full 10-year term on the bench was all but assured as he captured both Republican and Democratic nominations for Common Pleas Court. With three seats at stake on the local bench, Judge Christine Ward also appeared to have won nominations from both major parties. She was assured of winning one of the Democratic spots on the fall ballot and held a narrow lead for the third GOP slot.

City Councilman Alan Hertzberg was in third place on the Democratic ballot, followed closely by Judge Jill Rangos, who had the top position in the GOP results.

Rangos was comfortably ahead on the Republican ballot, followed by Wecht, with Ward and Robert Dauer battling for the third GOP nomination.

The recent churning of seats on Pittsburgh's City Council continued as Councilwoman Barbara Burns lost in a close race to political neophyte Luke Ravenstahl in District 1. This is Ravenstahl's first run for office but he comes from an established political family. His father is a district justice and his grandfather is a former state legislator. No Republican candidate filed for the seat.

Council got another new face as Thomas Tucker Sciulli won a special election to fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Bob O'Connor, who resigned to take a post in the Rendell administration. Sciulli's tenure on the fifth floor of the City-County Building will be short, however.

In the separate race for the Democratic nomination for the full term that begins next January, Doug Shields, O'Connor's former chief of staff, ran ahead of Scuilli and two other challengers. The winner will face Republican Daniel Wiseman in the fall.

In another closely watched race, fledgling Councilman Leonard Bodack Jr. won a rematch with two of the candidates he bested in a special election earlier this spring. In the unofficial returns, Bodack led Mitch Kates and Nancy Noszka.

In District 9, Councilwoman Twanda D. Carlisle defeated Judith K. Ginyard.

Yesterday's results could lay the foundation for still more change on council should Hertzberg capitalize on his Democratic nomination to win a term on the bench.

Some years ago, Joe Hardy, the 84 Lumber millionaire, traveled to England and purchased the title, Lord of the Manor in Henley-in-Arden. Last night's unofficial results gave him the chance to claim another lofty title -- Fayette County commissioner. The Nemacolin resort developer captured one of the two GOP nominations for the post.

In the other appellate court races, each party chose three nominees for Superior Court.

On the Democratic side, the winners were Judge Jack Panella, of Northampton County Common Pleas Court; Judge John J. Driscoll, the former prosecutor from Westmoreland County, and Judge Seamus McCaffery, of Philadelphia's Municipal Court.

The first two GOP slots went to Grainger Bowman, a Cumberland County lawyer, and Susan Gantman, a Montgomery County lawyer. Judge Palmer Dolbin, of Schuykill County, held a narrow lead over Jacqueline Shogan of Westmoreland County for the final Republican spot.