Tuesday was a momentous day in Center, Potter and Monaca, as primary election voters in Center Area and Monaca chose candidates for a school board that won't come into existence until July 1.

Meanwhile, it was a ho-hum day in most other West towns and school districts with light turnout among voters who backed most incumbents and nominated few new candidates.

When the Center Area and Monaca merger takes effect, the school board will consist of 18 members -- nine from each former district. The size will be reduced to 14 after the general election in November and trimmed to nine in 2011.

The whittling process made for a strange election, with incumbents facing off in Monaca and in one of the two Center Area voting regions. It also produced a philosophical face-off with the pro-merger Monaca board losing three seats on the combined board but a pro-merger candidate winning the key Center race.

"This new school district has to start thinking in terms of Central Valley, not in terms of Center and Monaca," said Charlene Costanza Kosmal, who edged fellow incumbent Tom Dawson to win the Democratic and Republican nominations in Center Area Region 2, according to unofficial results.

It was perhaps the most meaningful race in the whole primary, because Mr. Dawson was appointed in 2007 by a group of Center Area school board newcomers looking to slow down the merger, and voted consistently as part of that group while Ms. Costanza Kosmal was a holdover from the previous board that supported the merger and opposed the moves made by Mr. Dawson's group.

Ms. Costanza Kosmal, however, sees some signs that those distinctions are fading in significance.

"The idea is that people should be looking into what they're supposed to be doing, learning about the issues and deciding for themselves," she said. "For the most part, the board has been doing that lately."

In Monaca, voters in both parties chose board president Mike Halama over fellow incumbent Sherri Weber and newcomers Jason Palmer and Josh Cron.

Mr. Halama said he was gratified by the vote, but agreed with Ms. Kosmal that the true change to Central Valley will be long in coming. "Officially, it's July 1," he said. "Unofficially, it's going to take years. We haven't even gotten to the hard part yet."

Mr. Halama noted that after July 1 the district can have only one superintendent and only one solicitor, among other positions that must be decided. "It's getting down to rug-cutting time," he said.

Only one seat was available in Monaca because of the redistricting plan approved late year for the new district, which will consist of three regions -- two in Center and one in Monaca. Each of those districts will have three seats. Monaca is losing three seats this year and will lose three more in 2011.

Another incumbent, Dennis Bickerstaff, chose not to run. Bill Temple, who was board president in 2008 and led it through a number of tense negotiations with the Center board, resigned recently. His replacement, former board Jeff Michel, did not run either.

Mr. Halama is an involved, outspoken board member, but then, so is Ms. Weber. He may be a bit more pragmatic about compromising, and has 24 years on the board to her four, but both are firm defenders of Monaca's legacy and place in the new district.

Robert Martini was unopposed for a two-year seat in Center Region 1. The two available four-year seats in Center 1, meanwhile, will generate the only November challenge in the new district. Incumbent John McCracken won nominations from both parties, but incumbent Tom Mowad and former Monaca superintendent and Center Area board member Mike Siget split, with Mr. Mowad getting the Democratic nod and Mr. Siget the Republican nod.

The region is heavily Democratic, though, with 1,133 votes cast in the primary to only 247 Republican votes.

Ms. Costanza Kosmal noted that there are a number of major decisions still to be made before the merger and hopes that they can be made in the best interests of Central Valley rather than Center or Monaca.

"How do we get past thinking separately and start thinking together?" she asked. "I don't know that that's going to happen in this election. Time will tell."

Here's a roundup of other contested races:

Tom Snyder has waited a long time to be mayor and thanks to unofficial results, he is now one step closer.

Mr. Snyder beat out former mayor James Pascoe for the Democratic mayoral nomination. No Republicans filed for the seat.

"I'm very happy. It feels good," he said yesterday morning.

As council president, Mr. Snyder stepped into the role of acting mayor in October 2007 following the resignation of Mr. Pascoe, who later changed his mind. When council refused to honor his request, he appealed to Common Pleas Court. After the court ruled against Mr. Pascoe, council appointed Mr. Snyder mayor.

But he had held the post only a month when another Common Pleas Court ruling put Emmett Freshwater into the mayor's seat on a preliminary injunction. With the help of the vacancy board appointee, Mr. Freshwater in a split vote had been appointed mayor in December 2007, but, unbeknownst to officials, an injunction had been issued earlier that day in Mr. Pascoe's case.

That put the mayor's job on hold until a final ruling against Mr. Pascoe's case was issued in March. After council appointed Mr. Snyder to the position to serve out the remainder of Mr. Pascoe's term, Mr. Freshwater took his case to court, which ruled in his favor in April 2008.

But, Mr. Freshwater, who had filed to run for the Democratic mayoral nomination in the primary, and four borough council candidates, were tossed off the primary ballot by Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph James in March because they failed to file their required financial interest statements to Carnegie.

Mr. Snyder faces competition in November from Jack Kobistek, an independent who is making his first run for public office.

In other Carnegie races, Bob Veres won the Democratic bid for Ward 1 council seat. Democrats Pat Catena and Richard D'Loss won nominations for the seats in Ward 2.

There were no Republicans for the council seats.

Newcomer Debra Rice of Scott, a Pittsburgh school teacher, was the top vote-getter on both ballots. Also earning both party nominations were incumbents Jeff Choura and Bridget Kelly.

The lone contested seat in November will involve incumbents Beth McIntyre and Tom Galluze, both of Scott.

Mrs. McIntyre beat Mr. Galluze on the Democratic ballot while Mr. Galluze won the Republican nomination.

Incumbent Mary Murray won the Republican nomination among three candidates and will face Democrat Richard Garzony in November for Coraopolis district judge. Mr. Garzony defeated three other challengers. The district covers Coraopolis, Crescent, Moon and Neville.