Washington County residents can expect some big changes next year when Steve Toprani takes office as the county's new district attorney.

"The message is simple," said Mr. Toprani, a Republican. "More openness and accountability in the office."

Mr. Toprani, 28, soundly defeated six-term incumbent District Attorney John C. Pettit last week, with a nearly 2-1 margin and an unmistakable signal from voters who were screaming for change.

"The voters obviously voiced ... that they want change, and we're going to give it to them," Mr. Toprani said Wednesday.

Unofficial results show Mr. Toprani, from Carroll, walked away with 27,129 votes, or 65.46 percent, while Mr. Pettit, 72, of Washington, got 14,283 votes, equaling 34.46 percent.

There were 33 write-in votes and about 1,200 absentee ballots which had yet to be counted Wednesday, although they are not expected to affect the outcome.

County Elections Director Larry Spahr said turnout was approximately 32 percent, about what he anticipated.

Mr. Toprani said he plans to stick with the 10-point plan he unveiled last month, which includes reorganizing and modernizing the office with voice mail and electronic research capabilities.

The initiative also calls for increased training, communication and funding for the county's drug task force, which came under fire in recent years for fewer arrests and funding issues.

Part of Mr. Toprani's plan also involved appointing assistant district attorneys to serve in specialized roles, reorganizing county detectives, public outreach programs, and giving police a more active role in plea agreements.

He said he will be meeting with county officials to try to relocate the cramped office to a larger space outside the courthouse. The courts, he said, could use the current office space more efficiently.

Mr. Toprani said he hasn't made any decisions about office staff, but will meet with the assistant district attorneys soon to determine how many wish to stay on.

And, he said, just wanting to keep a county salary won't be enough.

"I want people who have vision," he said. "I want people who will put the county first."

That also means that assistants who work in private practice will have to start putting their other responsibilities behind those in the district attorney's office.

He also plans to call a meeting soon with Fraternal Order of Police union members and chiefs of police countywide to discuss ways to improve the office.

"We're going to get everyone on the same page and say, ''What do you need? What can the district attorney's office do for you?' "

Mr. Toprani also has different ideas about his new job, saying that while he may occasionally try a case, he plans to implement new policies and will sit in on pretrial conferences to review cases and familiarize himself with the issues.

Although he's not tried a criminal case in front of a jury yet, Mr. Toprani said he has had training and looks forward to learning more about the job. Mr. Toprani has a private practice in Allegheny County, specializing in civil cases, personal injury and criminal law.

He said he looks forward to learning from two advisers he plans to bring to the office after he's sworn in Jan. 8: J. Michael Aaron, a former Cecil police officer with 15 years experience as an investigator in Camden, N.J., and Craig R. McKay, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney.

In the hard fought battle for county commissioner, former Peters councilman Mike Neville fell to the three incumbents, Republican Diana Irey, and Democrats Larry Maggi and J. Bracken Burns.

Mr. Burns, 62, of South Strabane, and Mrs. Irey, 45, of Carroll, won a fourth term in office, with 19,846 and 20,907 votes respectively, while Mr. Maggi, 56, of Buffalo, won his second term with 23,175 votes.

Although they did not campaign together, Mrs. Irey, Mr. Maggi and Mr. Burns presented a united front, saying their teamwork has benefitted the county, with the second highest rate of job creation in the area, and the second lowest property tax rate.

Mr. Neville, 47, a Republican, was critical of the incumbents for a property tax hike in 2004 and for voting themselves a raise of 3 percent a year. He received 17,470 votes, but came close to unseating Mr. Burns several times as the results poured in Tuesday night.

Mr. Maggi, who walked away with the highest vote total, said he's thankful for the support.

"I look at that as a compliment from the people," he said. "I just want to live up to that."

Mrs. Irey said she was thrilled for her victory and for that of Mr. Toprani.

"I was ecstatic with the outcome of the election," said Mrs. Irey, whose 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, voted for the first time with her mother Tuesday. "I was just on cloud nine for Steve Toprani and the incredible outcome he had in his first election."

Mrs. Irey invited Mr. Toprani and his campaign team to join her at Southpointe Golf Club, where she and her supporters watched the returns come in Tuesday night.

"It just added to my joy last night to share in his," she said Wednesday.

Mr. Burns said he was thankful for being re-elected, but had hoped he would fare better.

"I didn't set out to come in third. I was a little disappointed in that," he said. "I'm honored to be a commissioner and I'm grateful to have four more years to serve the people of Washington County."

In another highly anticipated county race, incumbent Prothonotary Phyllis Ranko Matheny thwarted Judith Fisher, the county's Democratic jury commissioner, who challenged her for a second time.

Ms. Matheny, 66, of North Strabane, won re-election four years ago by only seven votes as a GOP write-in, even though she lost the Democratic primary to Mrs. Fisher, 68, of South Strabane.

This time around, Ms. Matheny again fell to Ms. Fisher in the primary -- by 29 write-in votes -- but secured the Republican nomination.

She beat Ms. Fisher by 1,351 votes last week, taking away 22,067 votes to Ms. Fisher's 20,716 votes.

Ms. Matheny said she was apprehensive about the results, but felt comfortable with the bipartisan support she received as the election neared.

"It's not a Democratic victory, and it's not a Republican victory. It's a Washington County victory," said Ms. Matheny. "It shows that people can work together despite party politics."

After defeating three other opponents in the Democratic primary in May, deputy Register of Wills Mary Jo Poknis had little problem with Republican Lynette Leasure, winning with 26,483 votes to Ms. Leasure's 15,718 votes.