The turnout was light Tuesday among West voters, who returned most incumbents to their municipal and school board seats. But, some challengers scored upsets, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County and Beaver County election departments:

For what may be the first time in its 105-year history, voters chose an independent candidate as mayor.

Jack Kobistek, 47, a registered Independent from Marshall Avenue, defeated Democrat Tom Snyder, 61, of Sigrid Drive.

"He worked hard and he got it. I wish congratulations and good luck," Mr. Snyder said yesterday from his gas station on Second Avenue.

Mr. Snyder served several terms on Council and also short stints as interim mayor and then appointed mayor in the 2007-2008 mayoral-go-round that was precipitated by former Mayor James Pascoe's October 2007 resignation.

Mr. Kobistek, who holds several master's degrees, is a grant writer and former auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He is director of a nonprofit that helps communities with economic and community development solutions.

He attributes his win to a "real team effort."

"There were a lot of people who worked one voter at a time," he said.

Besides speaking at public meetings, Mr. Kobistek established a Web site and ran an e-mail campaign.

He said he plans to hit the ground running, adding "the same unified spirit that brought us a victory is what we need to tackle the tough times facing Carnegie."

Mayor Emmett Freshwater failed to file timely financial interest statements for the primary election and was disqualified for the ballot.

-- By Carole Gilbert Brown

The combination of a strong newcomer's voice and a last-minute write-in campaign waged by a former administrator was enough to change the makeup the Chartiers Valley school board in Tuesday's election.

Debra Rice, of Scott, a special education teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, was the voters' top pick followed by incumbents Jeff Choura, Bridget Kelly and Beth McIntyre -- all from Scott.

Incumbent Tom Galluze, also of Scott, was defeated. He had no comment when contacted yesterday.

Also, former Chartiers Valley Assistant Superintendent Tammy Whitfield, of Collier, received write-in votes, but there weren't enough write-in votes districtwide to defeat any of the candidates on the ballot. The county Department of Elections isn't expected to count write-in votes until next week. Dr. Whitfield could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Though enticed initially to run at the urging of her brother who is a school director in another state, Mrs. Rice, the mother of four and a teacher, worries the district has become complacent.

"There are a lot of changes coming to education and we need to bring [our schools] up to speed," she said, adding she wants to learn more about curriculum.

She had some remarks about some board member behavior, too.

Administrators should be allowed to do their jobs, she said, and school directors must be accountable to the community and not the reverse.

"They act as if it's a trophy position and it's not," she said.

Ms. McIntyre, of Scott, who was elected to a fourth four-year term, said she is looking for a brighter future.

"I'm hoping the climate changes and I can be part of this board again," she said.

Dr. Whitfield, a 22-year district employee whose contract expired Saturday, is awaiting a U.S. District Court decision on her accusation that her First Amendment rights have been violated. Dr. Whitfield said she believes her contract has not been renewed because of her 2006 testimony in a suspension appeal hearing involving basketball coach Tim McConnell.

She ran a late write-in campaign at the urging of her supporters.

-- By Carole Gilbert Brown

From a political standpoint, the first general election in this newly merged school district was a ho-hum affair.

Incumbents Tom Mowad and John McCracken beat challenger Mike Siget for the two available seats in one Center district. Mr. Siget, a former Monaca school superintendent and Center Area school director, held only a Republican nomination in the Democratic district and did not actively campaign.

In the other contested seat, incumbent Frank Shuster beat fellow incumbent Sherri Weber for the Monaca seat.

Given the historic nature of the election, however -- it is reducing the size of the board formed by the July 1 merger of the Center Area and Monaca school districts from 18 members to 14 -- and the challenging work to be done as the merger rolls on, though, board president Mel Mikulich sees the quiet election as a wonderful thing.

"This gives us the ability to proceed with the positive things we want to achieve, working with the people who created those positive things," Mr. Mikulich said.

The lack of newcomers also means that no one will have to be educated on the complexities of what's going on or the history behind them -- the two districts worked through endless complexities in putting the merger together and face more as they move toward combining the middle and high schools next year.

"The people that are remaining are extremely capable and have proven that," Mr. Mikulish said.

He said he was sorry to lose Ms. Weber -- who served with him on the Monaca board leading up to the merger -- but saw her race against Mr. Shuster as a no-lose proposition for the board as a whole.

"I am disappointed, but it wasn't meant to be," Ms. Weber said. She said she was proud of the role she played as the Monaca board struggled with an anti-merger faction on the Center board through the first half of 2008. "We didn't back down, and it would have been easy to do so," she said.

Those struggles led to some careful thinking and tough negotiations as the two sides looked at electoral issues last winter, and this election cycle was carefully designed to ensure a board with eight members from Center and six from Monaca. The 2011 election will reduce the board to the standard nine members, six from Center and three from Monaca.

Mr. Mikulich said those negotiations and the concerns that drove them -- concerns that Center would dominate the board due to its greater size -- seem distant now that the board has become one.

"You very, very seldom hear now, 'That's a Monaca guy' or 'That's a Center issue,' " he said. "I really think we've sort of erased the imaginary line that separated us into Center and Monaca. It was an issue before the merger, for sure, but I think it has been completely obliterated."

-- By Brian David

Robert Schuler and Timothy Young will join Wilson Durisko on the board of commissioners in January in what will be the first GOP majority board in the township's history.

Mr. Schuler, a former Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania executive and former president of the township planning commission, was elected a commissioner two years ago to fill an unexpired term.

Mr. Young, who ran as a write-in candidate in May, retired in June from the Chartiers Valley School District, where he was a math teacher and high school principal.

Returned to a second term was Democrat Kay Downey-Clarke.

"I'm very pleased with the outcome of the election. I think this is a board that will continue the progress in Collier," she said.

Democrats Jack Cargnoni, a former commissioner, and political newcomer Jason Horr were defeated.

Mr. Schuler said a walking crusade he and Mr. Young took around the township was "a great experience" to see first-hand and listen to residents' issues. He pledged to use tax dollars wisely while improving public services.

Mr. Young also vowed to keep a lid on taxes, but stressed the need for controlled growth in the community, both in the residential and business sectors. He's also interested in further park development and pointed out that some seniors suggested the need for recreational activities for older adults.

Democrat Roger Horgan, board president, did not seek re-election.

-- By Carole Gilbert Brown

Councilman James G. Bloom Jr., a Republican who has served two years, defeated Mayor Susan D. O'Connell, who has been mayor since 2005.

"It's obvious Mr. Bloom got the vote out, and that's how politics run," said Ms. O'Connell, who is an attorney for two insurance companies. "I sent Mr. Bloom an e-mail Tuesday night, congratulating him."

Mr. Bloom, who retired from the Crafton Police Department in 2006 after 31 years, said he was especially pleased that campaigns for the mayor and council races were "positive" with an absence of mud-slinging.

He said he hopes to continue "positive improvements" that have been made in the last two years, including efforts to pay off loans.

"We should be completely loan-free in a couple of years, he said.

In January, council will accept applications to fill Mr. Bloom's council seat for two years. It will have 30 days to make an appointment.

-- By Linda Wilson Fuoco

There was no question that the Democratic majority would maintain its majority -- the four available seats were held by Republicans.

The question, then, was just how significant the Democratic majority would get.

The answer was something of a mixed bag. Mark Limbruner, a consistent critical voice from the minority side of the aisle, lost his seat, but Republican board critic Michael Nagy won one, and so did incumbent Republican Jeff Bussard.

Those two will be joined on the board by newcomers Jerry Testa, a Democrat, and Sandy Volpe McCurdy, the wife of former board member Sean McCurdy and the only candidate nominated by both parties.

Joining Mr. Limbruner on the outside looking in were Democrats Donald Radovich and Stephen Washington.

Directors Ben Bonham and Carol Cellini did not seek re-election.

"I think it's fabulous that Jeff [Bussard] and Mike [Nagy] got elected," Mr. Limbruner said, adding that he was "both disappointed and a little relieved" that he did not get re-elected himself.

He said that despite the frustrations of being in a minority position, he is proud of his role in getting McCormick Elementary renovated and reopened and of his role in bringing in a number of new administrators.

He said he hopes that the new board with three new faces will have better chemistry than the last one, which was marked by some bitter factional clashes.

"I think after each election the board takes on a new face," Mr. Limbruner said. "Hopefully things can be less contentious."

The results might not translate into a mandate from the voters for the building program launched by the current board majority, but it certainly does not create any roadblocks.

The $121 million project includes a new high school now under construction, the renovation of the current high school for use as a middle school and the demolition of the current middle school.

Mr. Bussard said he was disappointed to see Mr. Limbruner go -- "he was a great source of leadership over the last four years" -- but said he is looking forward to meeting with Mr. Nagy, Mr. Testa and Ms. Volpe McCurdy, and is always open to ideas from other incumbents.

"Things can change pretty quickly sometimes," he said.

Mr. Bussard said the construction projects at this point need to go forward, but he sees for himself a role monitoring change orders and other ongoing costs to help make sure things are done as efficiently as possible.

"Anything we can trim and save the taxpayers money, great," he said.

-- By Brian David

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