Marshall defeats Harris in District 14

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



		Where to find election results Allegheny County Butler County Westmoreland County Lawrence County Mercer County Beaver County

Marshall defeats Harris in close District 14 GOP race
(1:25 a.m.)

The votes are all counted in the District 14 Republican House race and the winner appears to be Jim Marshall (1,435) over Jeff Harris (1,381).

Mr. Marshall has a November date on the ballot against Rep. Mike Veon, of Beaver Falls, a 22-year legislative veteran who is, as minority whip, the second most powerful Democrat in the House.

And for those of you keeping score: The two Republican leaders in the state Senate: Majority leader David J. Brightbill, R-Lebanon, and President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer, R-Blair, both lost.

Incumbents also lost in the state House of Representatives:
Gibson C. Armstrong, R-Lancaster.
Roy E. Baldwin, R-Lancaster.
Fred Belardi, D-Lackawanna.
Teresa E. Forcier, R-Crawford.
Dennis E. Leh, R-Berks.
Stephen R. Maitland, R-Adams.
Frank J. Pistella, D-Allegheny.
Kenneth W. Ruffing, D-Allegheny.
Paul W. Semmel, R-Lehigh.
Thomas L. Stevenson, R-Allegheny.
Peter J. Zug, R-Lebanon.

Rep. Daley wins in 49th District
(12:40 a.m.)

Finals from Janice Crompton: In the 49th District, the winner is incumbent Rep. Peter J. Daley, D-California, (52.25 percent). He beat challengers James F. Rohaley (25.92) and Randy J. Barli (21.09).

The Republican race looks like it goes to Edward Angell, who nipped Nate Nevala by 68 votes out of 1,685 cast in Washington and Fayette counties.

That sets up a Daley vs. Angell race in November.

And have we reported that Democratic candidate Chad Kluko locked up his party's nomination for the District 18 U.S. House seat? (Honestly, it's all sort of a blur now.) Mr. Kluko, a former telecommunications executive from Monroeville, is pursuing the seat held by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair.

Altmire defeats Berner in District 4 race
(12:20 a.m.)

Reporter Gary Rotstein tells us that we can safely say Jason Altmire, a former UPMC executive and congressional staffer, has won the Democratic primary against business owner Georgia Berner for the District 4 House race. Mr. Altmire will face Republican incumbent Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, in November.

Rep. LaGrotta defeated in close contest
(Midnight)

Longtime Democrat legislator Frank LaGrotta was defeated last night in a neck-and-neck race that was separated by only a handful of votes.

The Lawrence County 10th District representative acknowledged the pay raise issue likely was a major factor in the groundswell of support for his opponent, political newcomer Jaret Gibbons. Both men live in Ellwood City.

"That's how things go in politics,'' Mr. LaGrotta said.

A 20-year veteran of the state House, he had voted for the pay raise and had accepted unvouchered expenses of $4,414 but has been paying it back. Mr. Gibbons did not accept the support of the oust-the-incumbent grassroots group, PACleanSweep, saying he did not believe that every incumbent legislator should be ousted -- only those who have been around too long. Like Mr. LaGrotta.

The 10th district includes portions of Lawrence, Beaver and Butler counties.

Mr. Gibbons, 25, will graduate from law school at the University of Pittsburgh on May 27. Mr. LaGrotta, 47, was a journalist before he entered politics.

Nail biter in District 14 GOP contest
(11:50 p.m.)

This is the stuff election nights are made of. A real nail-biter in the District 14 Republican race, where only two of the 44 precincts are still out.

Jeff Harris, 43, of New Sewickley, has 1,424 votes. He is an electrical designer for power systems and public relations officer for the motorcyclist rights group ABATE of PA. He has signed a pledge to vote against all tax increases.

Jim Marshall, 46, a Big Beaver councilman, has 1,373 votes. He has spent 20 years in the service industry and is a proponent of municipalities jointly providing services.

As if tonight wasn't tough enough, the winner gets a November date on the ballot against Rep. Mike Veon, of Beaver Falls, a 22-year legislative veteran who is, as minority whip, the second most powerful Democrat in the House.

More from Janice Crompton: They're done counting the votes in the 46th District and the winner is Jesse White with 52.89 percent. Democratic challenger Paul Walsh collected 46.49 percent. Mr. White will face Republican Paul Snatchko in November.

In the 49th District, they're up to 96.4 percent of the numbers and incumbent Peter J. Daley, D-California, (51.12 percent) is comfortably ahead of challengers James F. Rohaley (26.07) and Randy J. Barli (21.04).

The Republican race between Edward Angell at 50.13 percent and Nate Nevala with 48.89 is still too close to call.

Vote counting slow, 2 a.m. finish expected
(11:40 p.m.)

Reporter Mark Belko on the North Side: The vote counting won't be completed until 2 a.m. That's a lot slower than we've seen in the past, when they usually wrapped things up in time for the 11 o'clock news.

The problem, Mr. Belko said, is that they're being very deliberate. Also, there are thousands of paper ballots to be counted. Furthermore, in past elections, votes could be counted at the regional centers, where they were collected from the precincts. Those days are gone.

Still, overall, officials say there have been no glitches and things are proceeding -- slowly.

More news from the other side of the state, where attorney Lois Murphy led businessman Mike Leibowitz in the Democratic race to represent District 6 in the Philadelphia suburbs. She will face Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach in a rematch of their 2004 face-off.

Stay with us for this race: In State House District 14, the Republican candidates are neck-and-neck. With 41 of 44 precincts reporting -- that's 93 percent of the vote -- Jim Marshall has 1,386 and Jeff Harris has 1,363. The winner will face Democratic Rep. Mike Veon.

Rep. DeWeese gets nod; more Washington numbers
(11:15 p.m.)

Democratic Rep. H. William "Bill" DeWeese has won his party's nomination in District 50, which includes Greene County and parts of Fayette and Washington counties.

Updated Washington numbers from Janice Crompton: In the 46th District, which includes much of Washington and portions of Beaver and Allegheny counties, 78.38 percent of the vote is in. Democrat Jesse White has 54.28 percent and Paul Walsh has 45.25 percent.

In the 49th District: incumbent Peter J. Daley, D-California, has 51.41 percent of the vote, as opposed to James F. Rohaley's 26.21 and Randy J. Barli's 21.53.

The Republican race in District 49 is still too close to call: Edward S. Angell has 52.31 percent to Nate Nevala's 46.90. That's with 69.6 percent of the vote tallied.

Sen. Jubelirer concedes defeat
(10:50 p.m.)

PACleanSweep made its mark on the Legislature tonight as Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer has just become the second legislative leader to concede a loss in the Republican primary.

Earlier this evening, state Sen. David J. Brightbill conceded to Republican challenger Mike Folmer, former Lebanon city councilman.

Both veteran lawmakers had been targeted for defeat after their involvement in last year's controversial legislative pay raises.

In the 11th District, reporter Karen Kane tells us, there's only a couple of precincts left to be counted and it would be physically impossible to change the outcome. So mark incumbent Rep. Brian Ellis as the winner over challenger Gregory S. Walter.

Knoll wins bid for second term, AP says
(10:50 p.m.)

The Associated Press in Philadelphia is confirming that Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, a veteran politician, has locked up the nomination for a second term on the Democratic ticket with Gov. Ed Rendell. Of course, they still have to defeat the Republican ticket of Lynn Swann and Jim Matthews in November.

Ms. Knoll fended off three Democratic challengers, including Valerie McDonald Roberts, the Allegheny County recorder of deeds, who was endorsed by the state's two largest newspapers.

With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Ms. Knoll had 190,719 votes, or 65 percent of the total, compared with less than 20 percent for each of her opponents.

Four years ago, Ms. Knoll, 75, became the first woman elected lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania history.

Doyle should have easy win in county
(10:32 p.m.)

Reporter Gary Rotstein has filed this missive: The first 13 percent of vote returns in Allegheny County show that incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle will have an easy victory over challenger Mike Isaac in the Democratic primary and retain the 14th District seat, since he has no Republican opponent in the fall.

Only one other Pennsylvania congressman had an opponent in today's primary: U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, who was battling a challenge from a political newcomer who entered the race after the four-term Republican congressman from northeastern Pennsylvania became embroiled in a sex scandal.

With 34 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Sherwood had 9,045 votes, or 54 percent, compared with Kathy Scott with 7,612, or 46 percent.

Mr. Sherwood was forced to acknowledge a five-year extramarital affair after his mistress sued him, accusing him of choking her at his Capitol Hill apartment. The two later settled.

Ms. Scott is a former guidance counselor.

Reporter Janice Crompton has checked in. In the 46th District, which includes much of Washington and portions of Beaver and Allegheny counties, Jesse White has inched ahead of Paul Walsh in the race to replace Victor Lescovitz, D-Midway, who is retiring. Mr. White has 56.51 percent while Mr. Walsh has 43.03 percent. That's with 52.97 percent of the votes counted. The winner will face Republican Paul Snatchko, who was unopposed today.

In the 49th District, incumbent Peter J. Daley, D-California, has a significant lead over challengers James F. Rohaley and Randy J. Barli. The numbers, with 41 percent of the vote counted, are Mr. Daley 54.06 percent; Mr. Rohaley 25.29; and Mr. Barli 20.37. The winner will take on the Republican candidate, either Nate Nevala (47 percent).or Edward Angell (52 percent).

Casey: Nomination reflects Democratic unity
(10:32 p.m.)

We've gotten a quote from state Treasurer Bob Casey, who has been monitoring the primary returns from his home in Scranton.

Mr. Casey, who walked away with the Democratic nomination for U.S. Sentate seat held by Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, said his nomination reflects Democratic unity.

"Tonight voters from across the state overwhelmingly showed President Bush, Rick Santorum and the whole 'wrong direction' gang in Washington that the values that unite us as Democrats are stronger than anything that might divide us," the statement said.

In House District 34, reporter Judy Laurinatis reports that incumbent state Rep. Paul Costa is celebrating his victory at the Italian Club in Wilkins Township. Mr. Costa had been involved in a three-way race including one candidate who had been supported by the PACleanSweep group.

In House District 25, veteran lawmaker Joe Markosek appeared to win a narrow plurality against two opponents.

Steve O'Donnell, 60, trailed closely and Daniel Mator, 33, was well behind in the unofficial returns.

The three Monroeville Democrats competed to represent eastern suburbs against Ed Nicholson, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Mr. Markosek has represented the district for 24 years and has never faced a primary challenge since his first victory in 1982.

Mr. Mator, a student and former pizza shop owner, and Mr. O'Donnell, a business investor and former head of a mental health agency, cast themselves as reformers. Mr. Markosek ran on his record of securing state grant money for local public works and human services projects.

By the way, we were off the mark on the number of trucks delivering votes to the North Side. We're looking at a total of 20, not seven. Nine trucks are already in the loading dock and some vote totals -- just about 23 percent -- are already posted at the county Web site.

Ruffing may be going down,; Veon pulling ahead
(10:05 p.m.)

In the 38th District, incumbent Rep. Kenneth Ruffing, D-West Mifflin, appeared headed for defeat for a fifth term. William C. Kortz II, 51, of Dravosburg, a political newcomer who was endorsed by PACleanSweep, was leading in early returns.

The third candidate C.L. "Jay" Jabbour, 73, of West Mifflin, said the voters apparently did not want anyone in office that had prior experience.

"It looks like people wanted something brand new," said Mr. Jabbour, a longtime political figure who resigned his seat on Allegheny County Council to challenge Mr. Ruffing. "I've been involved in politics for 35 years. People apparently wanted a newcomer."

Mr. Ruffing, 39, was targeted for defeat after he voted in favor of the pay raise and took it, and then later voted to repeal it. Mr. Ruffing claimed he donated the money to an autism organization, but never produced a receipt to prove that made the donation.

But not all the culprits behind the legislative pay raise are being turned out. Rep. Mike Veon's supporters are on the verge of celebrating in Beaver County as their candidate seems to be pulling away from challenger Jay Paisley of Big Beaver. His lead is now 1,500 votes, with 60 percent of the precincts reporting.

Mr. Veon, a 22-year legislative veteran who is, as minority whip, the second most powerful Democrat in the House, was one of the architects of the pay raise. And when the Legislature later bowed to public outrage and repealed the raise by a 197-1 vote, Mr. Veon was the sole dissenting vote.

Secretary of State Pedro Cortes estimated today's voter turnout at 20 to 25 percent, which is typical for primaries. In 2002, the last gubernatorial primary, turnout was 23 percent with 1.8 million of the the state's 7.8 million registered voters turning out.

A concession on the pay raise
(10:05 p.m.)


	Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill, R-Lebanon, leaves the Lebanon GOP headquarters after giving his concession speech to supporters. Brightbill, who helped craft the unpopular legislative pay raise, was ousted from office in an upset defeat. Click photo for larger image.

This is news: According to reporter Tracie Mauriello in Harrisburg, state Sen. David J. Brightbill is conceding his election to Republican challenger Mike Folmer, former Lebanon city councilman.

Mr. Brightbill, who had been trying to overcome the controversy involving those legislative pay raises, made the concession at 9:40 p.m. after seeing the vote totals from Lebanon County, a former stronghold of his.

Sixty-one incumbents in the 253-member Pennsylvania Legislature faced primary challenges, the most since 1980, including legislative leaders from both parties. Most of the challengers were recruited by PACleanSweep, a group organized at the height of the pay raise furor.

Reporter Jan Ackerman has a winner in the 35th District, where incumbent Marc J. Gergely, who represents portions of Allegheny County including White Oak and McKeesport, has held off a challenge by Allegheny County Clerk of Courts George F. Matta II.

Mr. Gergely said the election was a referendum on his performance. Mr. Matta,of White Oak, a former businessman and mayor of Duquesne, focused his campaign on the pay raise.

Mr. Gergely voted against the pay raise in July, accepted it, but gave it back in August after outcry from his constituents.

Veon reports lead

In Beaver Falls, reporter Bill Toland has incumbent Rep. Mike Veon's spokesman saying his candidate is up by about 1,000 votes with half of the precincts counted. Mr. Veon is opposed in the District 14 contest by Jay Paisley.

Votes rolling in

And three more truckloads of Allegheny County votes have arrived at the North Side warehouse, so we're halfway there. No glitches have been reported and the counting is under way.

Jubelirer still trailing; Westmoreland County has speedy results
(9:40 p.m.)

More precinct reports from the center of the state -- 20 of 209 precincts (that's 10 percent) -- and John Eichelberger is still leading state Sen. Robert Jubelirer, the incumbent, 1,219 votes to 949.

But there's still a lot of votes out there to be counted. And that's what state Sen. David Brightbill is thinking, too. He's trailing challenger Mike Folmer, 717 votes to 482. Again, that's with about 10 percent of the precincts reporting.

Reporter Rebekah Scott tells us that poll results in Westmoreland County are coming in two hours earlier than usual. We'll pass them along to you as soon as we get them.

Paper ballot chase is on
(9:30 p.m.)

The first truckload of ballots has arrived at the North Side warehouse.

Seventy-three white boxes from the County Office Building were carried into counting area in a manner that Post-Gazette reporter Mark Belko could only describe as "fairly quick and efficient."

Each box contains data from electronic voting machines as well as any paper ballots filed at each precinct.

The entire process is being conducted under the watchful eye of Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato as well as officials from the county elections office.

Jubelirer race worth watching
(9:10 p.m.)

This might be worth watching: Sure, it's only one of 209 precincts, but in the State Senate District 30 Republican primary, Senate President Pro Tem Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona, is trailing challenger John Eichelberger, 78 votes to 56 votes. C. Arnold McClure received 20 votes.

Mr. Jubelirer, who was dogged by the legislative pay raise issue, has spent nearly $900,000 in his three-way battle with Mr. Eichelberger, a Blair County commissioner, and Mr. McClure, a farmer from Huntingdon County.

WINNER: Meanwhile, this bulletin from The Associated Press: State Treasurer Bob Casey has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

The winner is ... unopposed
(8:55 p.m.)

The Associated Press is reporting that Nick Kotik, the Democratic incumbent representing District 45 in the State House of Representatives, has won his election.

Of course, Mr. Kotik, who represents a section of Allegheny County that includes portions of Carnegie, Coraopolis, Scott, South Fayette and Stowe, had no Democratic opponent in the primary and no Republican has filed to oppose him in November.

Word from the North Side warehouse where the County Elections Bureau will be tabulating Allegheny County votes: The precinct votes are first being gathered at seven regional centers. They then will be transported to the North Side where officials expect to start getting some totals at about 9:30 p.m.

In addition, there are 15,000 paper ballots to be fed into an optical scanning machine that can count up to 120 ballots per minute.

More filings
(8:53 p.m.)

More precincts filing: Remember, these are early returns.

In the Democratic Senate primary, we now have 48 of 9,360 precincts. That's 1 percent of the action we'll see by the end of the night.
Bob Casey 1,563 - (82 percent)
Alan Sandals 189 - (10 percent)
Chuck Pennacchio 143 - (8 percent)

The lieutenant governor numbers so far:
Catherine Knoll 1,168 - (66 percent)
William Hall 325 - (18 percent)
Valerie Roberts 255 - (14 percent)
Gene Stilp 31 - (2 percent)

1 precinct down, 9,359 to go
(8:32 p.m.)

The first of the state's 9,360 precincts has reported the totals from the 12 voters who took part in the Democratic primary. In the Senate race, Bob Casey, currently the state treasurer, received 10 votes (83 percent.) The other two votes went to Alan Sandals and Chuck Pennacchio.

The race for lieutenant governor was a little closer. Incumbent Catherine Baker Knoll received nine votes (75 percent). The other three votes went to William Hall. Valerie Roberts and Gene Stilp received no votes.

But it's early yet. There are 9,359 more precincts to go.

New machines seem to click with voters
(8:05 p.m.)

The electronic voting age flashed to life across Pennsylvania today and most of the buzz in the early hours was favorable.

Officials overseeing today's primary election reported a few technical glitches and some cracked computer screens, but things seemed to be going smoothly as the polls closed at 8 p.m.

All but one of the state's 67 counties is using either electronic touch-screens or optical-scan systems for the first time, replacing the old mix of equipment that included now-obsolete mechanical-lever and punch-card machines.

"Things were even better than I thought they'd be,'' said Regis Young, director of the elections bureau in Butler County.

The county had 16 roving "trouble-shooters" -- county employees who were sent out to each of its 82 precincts to check for problems.

"We have a few little glitches, but everything was fixable,'' said Mr. Young, who reported a few locked-up screens. "We just had to do a resent on the machine and it was fine. No votes were lost.''

The most common incident was difficulty in printing out a "zero tape," before balloting began. Such a tape is run for each machine to show that no votes had as yet been cast. Mr. Young said in most cases, it boiled down to poll-workers not working the printer properly. He said the issue didn't delay the voting process at all.

Of 397 touch-screen machines that were put in place, there was one that appeared to malfunction before any votes were cast on it, Mr. Young said. "We closed it up and brought it in.''

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said the screens of nine of the county's machines were cracked while they were being transported and that poll workers had problems operating some machines.

In Bedford County, elections director Margaret Koenig told The Associated Press there had been no real problems with the electronic voting, but that some voters were opting for traditional paper ballots "because they're more comfortable with them."

"It's a change and my poll workers are still in shock," she said, adding that glitches included a faulty audio cord on one machine. "It's a little bit bumpy, but no worse than other elections."

Mary Stehman, chief registrar of Lancaster County, said the voting was going "terribly well" and that two of the county's 232 polling stations had requested additional machines to fulfill surprisingly strong demand.

In Philadelphia, dozens of electronic machines malfunctioned due to a problem with paper rolls that record write-in votes, final tallies and other information. Mechanics were deployed to fix the problems and voters were directed to other machines or given provisional ballots.

Congress passed the federal Help America Vote Act in 2002 in an attempt to curb the kinds of problems experienced in the disputed 2000 presidential election.

Bucks County, which was unable to arrange delivery of its new touch-screen machines in time for the primary, is using its old lever machines.

Beaver voting extended
(7:15 p.m.)

Voters in five Beaver County precincts were given two extra hours to vote this evening because of problems poll workers had this morning getting the voting machines up and running.

The precincts -- two in Midland, two in Beaver Falls and one in New Brighton -- will remain open until 9 p.m.

First published on May 16, 2006 at 12:00 am