November 3, 2021 12:18 am
Two years ago, Washington County Republicans took control of the County Commission and four row offices. Tuesday night, they swept the three remaining row offices with resounding victories.
County Controller: April Sloane over Ben Bright – 29,414 to 19,748
Recorder of Deeds: Carrie Perrell over Debbie Bardella – 26,898 to 22,470
County Sheriff: Tony Andronas over Lou Reda – 28,225 to 21,585
Jesse Pettit was elected to a 10-year term on the Court of Common Pleas, replacing retired President Judge Katherine Emery.
Current Judge Gary Gilman won a retention vote for another 10-year term on the bench by a margin of 25,595 to 16,543.
Democrat Kelly Stewart won the only contested Magisterial District Judge race, beating Republican challenger Pat Puskarich, 1,548 to 1,468, to replace the retiring Bob Redlinger at the beginning of the year.
By a 70/30 margin, the Washington County Government Study Commission referendum was rejected by voters. The final vote was 33,623 to 14,198 against the study. Commissioners Diana Irey-Vaughan and Larry Maggi both supported the study proposal and were joined by a group called “Bipartisan Committee to Support Government Study.” But the Washington County Republican Party, touting the “home rule” wording in the referendum, drew parallels to Allegheny County and led to the question’s defeat.
November 3, 2021 12:17 am
Contested races only, race & winner(s) in bold:
Washington City Council (vote for 2): (D) Andrew Callan 994, (D) Joseph DeThomas 858, (R) Dheaven Kelley 852
Bentleyville Mayor: (R) Tim Jansante 334, (D) Dominic Sicchitano 245
Bentleyville Council (vote for 4): (R) Joseph Pigeon III 351, (D) Timothy Miller 269, (R) Jason Cole 252, (D) Thomas Brown 250, (R) Kara Shaw-Dearth 249, (D) Stanley Glowaski 243, (D) Robert Paul 235
Burgettstown Council: (R) James Smith II 169, (D) Anna Marie Quader 83
California Council (vote for 4): (D) Patsy Alfano 402, (D) Jon Bittner 381, (D) Edwin Chip Glab 343, (R) John Frank 340, (R) Frank Stetar 339
Centerville Mayor: (D) Dylan Lamp 377, (R) Dave Sethman 283 (Note: 223 write-in votes were cast)
Charleroi Council (vote for 4): (D/R) Joseph Smith 250, (D/R) Paul Pivovarnik 244, (R) Larry Celaschi 232, (D) Jeannine Motycki 229, (D/R) Cathy Diess 211
Deemston Council (vote for 3): (R) Jody Lohr 145, (D/R) Tracey Lee Gilpin 124, (D) Shannon Sweany 123, (R) Brad Arbes 67, (D) Lindsay Kozlowski 60
Donora Mayor: (R) Don Pavelko 491, (D) Jim McDonough 394
East Washington Mayor: (R) Matthew Boice 255, (D) Kristopher LaGreca
Houston Mayor: (R) James Stubenbordt 178, (L) Demo Agoris 46
Houston Council (vote for 4): (R) Nick Galbraith 159, (D) Larry Scears 153, (D) Robert Ward 149, (R) Paul Hatalsky 122, (L) Roberta DeWalt 76
McDonald Council (vote for 3): (R) Michael Bish 182, (R) Jodi Robertson 181, (D) Raymond Miller 165, (D) James Patrick Powell 136
Speers Council (vote for 4): (D) Curtis Rice 212, (R) Lori Spina 192, (R) Sally Jo Barcelona 164, (D) Kerry McCorkle Jr. 160, (R) Jeremy Hepple 153, (D) Denise Decooman 125
Stockdale Council (vote for 4): (R) Adam Wilkinson 64, (D) Sherri Martin (59, (D) Lou Furlong 51, (D) Bill Furlong 48, (D) Mickey Messina 36
West Brownsville Council (vote for 4): (R) Irvin Patrick Toth 118, (D) Mark Randy Tobak 114, (R) Debby King 109, (D) Von Braddock 106, (D) Daniel Krilosky, (R) Kevin Klamorich Jr.
November 3, 2021 12:13 am
Contested races only, race & winner(s) in bold:
Buffalo Supervisor: (R) Jim Mounts 320, (D) Robert Buchanan 164
Canton Supervisor: (R) Richard Horner 954, (D) Robert Franks 711
Cecil Supervisor (vote for 2): (R) Frank Egizio 2012, (R) Darlene Barni 1630, (D) Kara Shirdon 1479, (D) Kevin Camerson 1359
Chartiers Supervisor: (R) Frank Wise Jr. 1145, (D) William Kiehl 1073
Chartiers Tax Collector: (R) Joseph Rozsas 1211, (D) Margie Kesneck 1040
Chartiers Constable: (R) James Miller 1216, (D) Michael Utchel 969
Donegal Supervisor (vote for 3): (R) Randy Polan 446 (6 years), (R) Jim Bauer 396 (4 years), (R) Ed Shingle 383 (2 years), (D) Kathleen Croft 204, (D) Tammi Iams 148
Donegal Tax Collector: (R) Susanne Dorsey 476, (D) Marcie Wright 121
Mt. Pleasant Supervisor: (D) Shane Mage 580, (R) Gary Cowden 467
Mt. Pleasant Constable: (R) Eric Costello 562, (D) James Szobota 439
North Bethlehem Supervisor: (R) James Dudt 291, (D) Leonard Magera 166
North Franklin Supervisor: (R) Joshua Polan 735, (D) Richard Haskey 497
North Strabane Supervisor (vote for 2): (R) Marcus M. Staley 2386, (D) Bob Ross 1935, (D) Steve Motzer 1779
Peters Council At-Large: (R) Gary Stiegel Jr. 4576, (D) Donna Watson 2308
Peters Council Ward A: (R) Allison Shanafelt 1017, (D) Bill Hittinger 602
Peters Council Ward B: (R) Matt Rost 1365, (D) Donna Watson 599
Peters Council Ward D: (R) Tom Pirosko 1201, (D) Luke Kelly 605
Robinson Supervisor: (D) Mary Donaldson 225, (R) Robert Cummins 179
South Strabane Supervisor (vote for 2): (D/R) Russel Grego 1500, (R) Bob Weber 1401, (D) Mark McCurdy 1021
Union Supervisor (vote for 2): (D/R) Michalle Dupree 1061, (R) Dave Esken 712, (D) Stephen Parish Jr. 652
Union Tax Collector: (D) Bernadette Speer 911, (R) Barb Garase (633
November 3, 2021 12:04 am
Contested races only, race & winner(s) in bold:
Bentworth (vote for 4): (D/R) John Petrisek 1054, (R) Kathleen Franks 1031, (D/R) Judy McCarty 1018, (D/R) Matt Harding 884, (D) John Dranzo III 862
Beth-Center R-II (vote for 2): (D/R) John Greenlee 288, (D) Jessica Sphar 201, (R) Donald Davey II 176
Canon-McMillan Canonsburg (except 1-4) (vote for 2): (D/R) Julie Chandler 679, (D) Bernard Price 567, (R) Amy Harding 550
Chartiers-Houston (vote for 4): (D/R) Melanie Rush 1470, (D/R) Richard Hall 1459, (D/R) Robert Mele 1393, (R) Shelley Brose 1361, (D) Fred Rockage 1230
Fort Cherry (vote for 4): (R) Chase Ogburn 1193, (D/R) Paul Bianchini 1160, (D/R) Jeanine Robinson Miles 1079, (D/R) Cynthia Gaskill 1035, (D) Dawn Fiori 743
McGuffey R3 (vote for 2): (D/R) Michelle Leibhart 553, (R) Kenneth Leasure 438, (D) Carl Group 300 (note there were 338 write-in votes)
Peters Township (vote for 4): NOTE–the Washington County Elections website lists 8,935 write-in votes in this election.
Ringgold At-Large (vote for 3): (D/R) Sherrie Garry 3560, (R) Gail Glaneman 3179, (D/R) Sarah Fine 3104, (D) Brian Lyon 2609
Washington (vote for 4): (D/R) Rhonda Barnes 1344, (D/R) Jenna Ward (1234), (D/R) Kimberly Kelley 1212, (D) Tara Sparks-Gatling 1185, (D) Frances Clark 909
November 2, 2021 4:14 pm
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Police in Las Vegas say Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III will face a felony driving under the influence charge after a fiery vehicle crash early Tuesday that left a woman dead and Ruggs and his female passenger injured. According to police, Ruggs was driving a Chevrolet Corvette that crashed a little before 3:40 a.m. into the rear of a Toyota Rav4 on a busy thoroughfare several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. Police say the Toyota caught fire and the driver died. The 22-year-old Ruggs “showed signs of impairment,” police said in a statement that said he will be charged with felony DUI resulting in death. Ruggs and his female passenger were hospitalized with unspecified injuries. (Photo: raiders.com)
November 2, 2021 4:12 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Voters in Minneapolis are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The election comes more than a year after George Floyd’s death launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country. Mayor Jacob Frey is also in a tough fight for a second term. He faces a bevy of opponents who attacked his leadership after Floyd’s death. Results from the ballot question are expected Tuesday night. But the mayoral race is a question mark because Minneapolis uses ranked choice voting. If no candidate reaches 50% in the first round of counting, the winner would be determined Wednesday.
November 2, 2021 4:11 am
UNDATED (AP) – An influential advisory panel is recommending Pfizer’s kid-size COVID-19 vaccine for all children ages 5 to 11. If the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees later Tuesday, the U.S. will embark on a major and long-awaited expansion of vaccinations. Pfizer already has begun shipping millions of doses to states, doctors’ offices and pharmacies. And pediatricians are getting ready to put shots into little arms as soon as they get the final OK. The special kid shots contain just a third of the dose given to teens and adults.
November 2, 2021 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is launching a wide-ranging plan to reduce methane emissions, targeting a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. Methane packs a stronger short-term climate punch than even carbon dioxide. The plan was being announced as President Joe Biden wraps up a two-day appearance at a United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. It would tighten methane regulations for the oil and gas sector and crack down on leaks from pipelines. A proposed rule would for the first time target emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focus only on new wells.
November 2, 2021 4:07 am
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete faceprints of more than 1 billion people. The unexpected announcement, delivered with little fanfare in a blog post published Tuesday, represents an abrupt about-face for the social network, which first launched use of the technology more than a decade ago. On Thursday, the company renamed itself Meta to focus on new technologies for the “metaverse,” a possible next iteration of the internet. The company is also embroiled in a larger public relations crisis after leaked documents from whistleblower Frances Haugen showed that it has known about the harms its products cause, yet often did little to mitigate them
November 2, 2021 4:06 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – A prosecutor says Kyle Rittenhouse instigated the confrontation that led him to shoot three people on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a turbulent protest against racial injustice. But Rittenhouse’s attorney says his client acted in self-defense after one of the men dove for his gun and others kicked him in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard. The two accounts came during opening statements Tuesday at Rittenhouse’s murder trial. Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third with an assault-style rifle during the summer of 2020. He could get life in prison if convicted.
