Professional Documents
Culture Documents
LNP | LANCASTER, PA
OTE
This is a municipal election, meaning candidates at the school district, city, borough, township and county
levels are on the ballot. In addition, there are races for magisterial district judge in Lancaster County and justices in Pennsylvanias Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts. One Lancaster County judge is up for
retention: Common Pleas Judge Dennis E. Reinaker. Many of the municipal, school board and county races
are uncontested. The municipal positions of auditor, tax collector and constable also appear on the ballot.
Where do I vote?
Should I expect
long lines?
3 2 1 3 6 3 7
State
judge
races
Magisterial
district judge
races
County
judge up for
retention
County
row office
races
School
board races
Township
races
Borough
council
races
Statewide Offices
JUSTICE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT
Vote for no more than 3
JUDGE OF THE
PENNSYLVANIA
SUPERIOR COURT
JUDGE OF THE
COMMONWEALTH
COURT
Vote for 1
n Alice Beck Dubow (Democrat): 56,
Philadelphia Common Pleas judge,
Philadelphia
n Emil Giordano (Republican): 55,
Northampton County Common Pleas
judge, Bethlehem
Vote for 1
n Michael Wojcik (Democrat): 51,
attorney, Pittsburgh
n Paul Lalley (Republican): 45,
attorney, Pittsburgh
Anne
Covey (R)
At the Supreme Court
candidates
debate, Covey didnt bring up
her status as the only one with
a not recommended rating
from the bar panel, but later
she played down its significance.
The PBA admitted I am a
good judge; they criticized me
for exercising my right to free
speech, the Commonwealth
Court judge said through her
campaign spokesman this
week.
In issuing the rating shortly
after the Republican State
Committee endorsed Covey,
the panel said that during her
2011 campaign for her present post she violated a signed
pledge not to run misleading
ads. Covey publicly protested
the action, but the panel stood
by its decision.
Covey, 55, of Bucks County,
was elected to the state bench
in 2011. Previously, she practiced law for more than 20
years, specializing in labor and
employment cases, including
a decade as a member of the
Pennsylvania Labor Relations
Board. She holds a law degree
from Widener University Law
School.
Her public profile was elevated by her handling of a lawsuit stemming from the Jerry
Sandusky child-sex abuse
scandal at Penn State that was
settled after the NCAA agreed
in January to abandon the
last of the sanctions it had imposed on the university.
Christine
Donohue
(D)
Donohue had
nearly three
decades of experience as a
Kevin
Dougherty
(D)
Philadelphia
Judge Dougherty remains the
campaigns top overall fundraiser, thanks largely to hefty
contributions from organized
labor.
Dougherty, who oversees the
trial division of Philadelphias
sprawling court system, has
spent most of his 14-year judicial career dealing with troubled juveniles and families in
the family division.
The Democrat received help
getting on the Philadelphia
bench from Gov. Tom Ridge,
Mike
George (R)
George, who
has spent his
30-year legal career in rural
Adams County, is hoping to
surprise the pessimists who
doubt his prospects of getting elected to Pennsylvanias
highest court.
The soft-spoken judge has
provided a couple surprises
already.
When the Republican State
Committee settled a contested vote for the partys
endorsements for three open
seats, the 56-year-old George
not only won an endorsement but also the largest
number of votes.
In March, he emerged as the
top GOP fundraiser after a
businessman friend contributed $500,000 and the other
Republican candidates are still
trying to match his war chest.
George has been an Adams
County judge since 2002. He
holds a law degree from Dickinson Law School, previously
served as Adams County district attorney for five years
and was in private law practice
for 11 years before that. He received a recommended rating from the bar panel.
Judy
Olson (R)
Superior
Court Judge
Olson hasnt
entirely jettisoned the Judge
Judy nickname her supporters adopted in the primary.
There are nods to the popular,
sarcastic TV jurist on Olsons
campaign website.
But the Republican is no
amateur. She spent more
than two decade as a private lawyer specializing in
complex commercial litigation and sits on the states
main intermediate appellate court.
This election is very simple. It boils down to two
things: experience and character, she said at the Harrisburg debate.
Olson, who received a
highly recommended rating from the bar panel, spent
24 years working for a succession of three Pittsburgh
law firms.
In 2008, Democratic Gov. Ed
Rendell appointed her to fill
a temporary vacancy on the
Allegheny County Court. She
was elected to the appellate
bench in 2009.
Olson, 58, holds a law degree
from Duquesne University
Law School.
Paul
Panepinto
(I)
Pa n e p i n t o,
a Philadelphia judge for 25
years, has tried three times to
climb the judicial ladder but
every campaign ended in the
same way: defeat in a GOP primary.
So the 66-year-old abandoned the Republican Party
and is running for state Supreme Court as an independent. He collected more than
28,000 signatures to get his
name on the general-election
ballot and put up $200,000
of his own money in the
hope that his luck will turn
around.
Im an independent candidate seeking the support of
David
Wecht (D)
Wecht boasts
that while the
other candidates talk about restoring integrity and ethics to the states
high court, hes the only one
with a concrete plan for doing
so.
The Democrats proposal
would ban gifts to judges,
tighten anti-nepotism policies, allow court proceedings
to be telecast, mandate ethics training for judicial candidates and require judges
asked to recuse themselves to
explain their decision on the
record.
Pennsylvanians are entitled
to justices who will focus on
law and stop the focus on power politics and hyper management control, he said in the
debate.
Wecht, 53, was elected to the
state Superior Court in 2011
after nine years as an Allegheny County judge. Before that,
he served as the countys elected register of wills and clerk of
orphans court from 1998 to
2003.
The son of nationally prominent former medical examiner
Cyril Wecht, he was educated
at Yale and received his law
degree in 1987.
Wecht was rated highly recommended by the bar panel.
election 2015
lnp | lancaster, pa
Countywide Offices
Lancaster County
Prothonotary
A11
Vote for 1
This district covers southwest Lancaster city.
n J.R. Haines (Republican): 45, constable of Lancaster
citys 8th Ward; Lancaster
n Adam Witkonis (Democrat): 42, attorney;
Lancaster
Vote for 1
This district covers Bart, Caernarvon, Leacock, Paradise,
Sadsbury and Salisbury townships.
n Ray Sheller (Republican): 31, Salisbury Township
constable; Narvon
n Deborah L. Greathouse (Democrat): 48, Lancaster
County assistant district attorney; Gap
Vote for 1
n Scott Althouse (Democrat): 43, program
coordinator for Gate House for Men; Lititz
n Katherine Wood-Jacobs (Republican): 69,
current prothonotary; Ronks
School Boards
School board candidates are allowed to cross-file in the primaries, meaning they can win both the Republican and
Democratic nominations and appear on the general election ballot twice. Weve indicated which school board
candidates have cross-filed and will appear on the ballot twice.
Lancaster County
Treasurer
Vote for 1
n Jen Porter (Democrat): 67, retired teacher;
Willow Street
n Amber Green (Republican): 31, owner of
Woo-Cat Property & Association Management;
Millersville
Townships
Conestoga Township
Supervisor
6-year term | Vote for 1
n Luke W. Bunting (Democrat): 46, president
and marketing strategist at Bunting Group;
Conestoga
n Loren R. Brown Jr. (Republican): 38, fire
inspector; Conestoga
Manheim Township
Commissioner
4-year term | Vote for no more than 2
n Tom OBrien (Democrat): 62, category
management at Rite Aid; Lititz
n Harry S. Stoltzfus (Democrat): 52, bank
administrator; Lancaster
n David R. Heck (Republican): 61, financial
manager; Lancaster
n Albert B. Kling (Republican): 73, retired;
Lancaster
Marietta Borough
Council
Marietta Borough
Council
Columbia Borough
Council
Boroughs
Lancaster
Millersville Borough
Council
4-year term | Vote for no more than 3
n Lynn Miller (Democrat): 60, systems analyst
at The Hershey Co.; Lancaster
n Michael Weidinger (Democrat): 60, community
corrections administrator; Millersville
n Martin S. Hohenadel (Republican): 61, retired
attorney; Lancaster
n Scott Bailey (Republican): 47, procurement
manager; Millersville
n Marilyn W. Sachs (Republican): 60, fiscal
technician; Millersville
Mountville Borough
Council
4-year term | Vote for no more than 4
n Doug Pryer (Democrat): 51, sales engineer at
Associated Steam Specialty Co.; Mountville
n Christine D. Eshleman (Republican):
38, operations manager at Schopf Bros.;
Mountville
n Paul B. Chin (Republican): 57, account
executive; Mountville
n Harry L. Morgan (Republican): 69, retired;
Mountville
n Michael Trimble (Republican): 57, plant
manager at OpSec Security; Mountville
Uncontested Races
Below is a list of uncontested candidates for countywide office or
magisterial district judge.
Note: For Lancaster County commissioner, voters elect three people but
are permitted to vote for only two candidates. In Republican-dominated
Lancaster County, that usually means two Republicans become the
majority commissioners and the Democrats battle each other for the job of
minority commissioner. In this years election, however, there are only three
candidates running for county commissioner, so each will be elected. The
three candidates are Republican incumbent Dennis Stuckey, Republican
nominee Josh Parsons and Democratic incumbent Craig Lehman.
Here is a list of uncontested candidates for countywide office or
magisterial district judge:
n Judge of the Court of Common Pleas: Thomas Boyd Sponaugle, who
cross-filed and won both the Republican and Democratic primaries, is
the only candidate on the ballot.
n Lancaster County Commissioner: Stuckey, Parsons and Lehman are
the only three people on the ballot for three seats on the board.
n Lancaster County Coroner: Republican Dr. Stephen G. Diamantoni is
unopposed for re-election.
n Lancaster County District Attorney: Republican Craig Stedman is
unopposed for re-election.
n Lancaster County Register of Wills: Republican Anne L. Cooper is
unopposed.
n Lancaster County Sheriff: Republican incumbent Mark S. Reese is
unopposed.
n Magisterial District Judge District 02-1-03: Miles Bixler, who crossfiled and won both the Republican and Democratic primaries, is the
only candidate on the ballot.
n Magisterial District Judge District 02-3-07: Republican incumbent
Nancy G. Hamill is unopposed.
n Magisterial District Judge District 02-3-09: Republican incumbent
Jayne Duncan is unopposed.
reminders
If you are a first-time voter or are voting in a
new precinct for the first time
n You must bring one of these approved forms of photo
identification:
n U.S. passport
n U.S. Armed Forces ID
n Student ID
n Employee ID
n You can use a nonphoto identification that includes your name and
address. Approved forms of nonphoto identification include: