John A. Thompson, a 40-year Wilkinsburg resident, defeated incumbent Mayor Wilbert Young by a 2-to-1 margin in Tuesday's Democratic primary.

Council President Pamela Macklin also was defeated in her quest for another council term.

According to unofficial results, Thompson received 1,642 votes and Young collected 863.

No Republicans were on the ballot for the mayoral or council races, so winners in the Democratic primary have a good chance of running unopposed in the fall.

Thompson, 49, currently serves as council vice president and finance committee chairman. He attributes his win to a longtime involvement in community affairs, endorsement by the Wilkinsburg Democratic Committee and strong backing from a newly formed citizens group, Neighbors Unite Wilkinsburg or NUW.

A little help from above didn't hurt either, according to Thompson, a member of Deliverance Baptist Church on the corner of Swissvale and Ross avenues.

Thompson, who has worked for US Steel's Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock for 30 years, lives with his wife, school director Barbara Thompson, on South Avenue.

He said his first priority as mayor will be to come up with a better plan to police the community and erase the perception that Wilkinsburg is a dangerous place to live and work.

"We need to keep the business district clean, attract more homeowners and keep the ones we have," said Thompson.

Young, 52, did not return a phone call asking for his reaction to the election. He was seeking his third term as mayor, but recently faced questions over payment of property taxes and whether he lives in the house he owns at 575 Ardmore Blvd. in Wilkinsburg.

In the 1st Ward, Barbara Ervin won with 278 votes over Loretta Rose, with 225 votes, and Joseph Auria, who had 213. She is seeking to replace retiring council member Johnette Wilson.

The winning 2nd Ward candidates were Barbara Kay Nicholas, with 386 votes, and Jason Cohen, with 371 votes. They defeated Macklin, who had 307 votes, and challenger Kathleen J. Wilson, who received 265.

In the 3rd Ward, the top vote getter was Tracey Evans, with 457 votes, followed by current council member Denise Edwards, who received 407 votes. They won out over incumbent Carl Lewis, who had 319 votes, and newcomer William Bowyer, who received 383.

The 175-member Neighbors Unite Wilkinsburg and the borough Democratic Committee each say they helped to change the face of Wilkinsburg politics.

Democratic Committee Chairman Walter Reid said voters responded to questions raised about Young's handling of the police department and reports of his unpaid taxes, which the current council did not address.

"The Democratic Committee and the candidates deserve the credit for the win over the incumbents," Reid said.

Savannah Avenue resident Donna Bour heads the nonpartisan NUW, which backed Thompson, Evans and Bowyer.

Bour credits the qualification of the challengers, along with some serious campaigning by her group, as the reason most of NUW's choices were successful in the primary.

"We want to see the community come together -- black, white, Democrat, Republican, all the diversities," said Bour. "We moved here four years ago from McMurray and I love it."