Down River 9/9

By John Lipez

Municipal Election Coming:
Yes, Labor Day has come and gone for yet another year and can the November 2 Clinton County Municipal Election be far behind? (You’re excited!)

There was a time when Labor Day marked the formal beginning of heavy duty election campaigning at so many levels but these days, on the state and federal levels the electioneering never ends. Thus we’re seeing and hearing a good bit about who will be elected in 2022 to replace retiring US Sen. Pat Toomey (R) and two-term Gov. Tom Wolf (D), the latter by law unable to seek a third term. And 2024? These presidential contests never end. Somehow Down River is on former President Donald Trump’s online solicitation list and trust me, if the number of daily pleas for money is any indication, he’ll be running again in 2024, unless potential court legal

impediments deny him the opportunity.
So 2022 and 2024 are already in the news here in 2021. But what about this year? Historically the year after a presidential election is, politically speaking, pretty quiet.

And quiet it has been as summer turns to fall in Clinton County. Yes, it’s officially a municipal election in our county and the other 66 across the commonwealth. That means the emphasis is your township, your borough, your city, although it should be noted there will be statewide contests for judgeships at all three levels, Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court.

We have two county row offices on the ballot and both look to be walkovers for the incumbents. County Treasurer Michelle Kunes (R) and County Coroner Zach Hanna (D) are unopposed on the November ballot. It is interesting to note that Kunes won only the GOP nomination in the spring while Hanna had enough votes to gain both the Republican and Democratic nominations; neither had a primary challenger and both are locks for November.

It turns out all the local election slots for the November ballot are not yet filled. If there is a vacancy, due to a resignation or a death post-primary, the county’s two major political parties have until September 13 to submit candidates for inclusion on the November ballot. According to county voter registrar Maria Boileau, complete sample ballots with all candidates should be available for public view shortly thereafter.

Ballot vacancies popping up after the primary are in Lock Haven for a two-year term on city council, a two-year term for Wayne Township supervisor, and a two-year term for Leidy Township supervisor. And in Beech Creek borough, the situation is this: Justin Kline won both the Democratic and Republican nominations for mayor but unfortunately passed away last month. The man he beat in May was sitting Mayor Melvin Coakley; Democrats there are expected to put in Coakley’s name as the Democratic nominee while Republicans have nominated James R. Walker as their candidate.

As for contested local November contests, there are more than a few (but a whole lot more where there is only one candidate on the ballot and a few where there are no candidates).

Atop the list of contested races is for mayor of Renovo where incumbent Tommy Tarantella Jr. took the Democratic nomination unopposed and Bucktail High boys’ basketball coach Gene Bruno snared the Republican nomination unopposed.

I counted up six townships with contested supervisor races. These are Woodward, Wayne, Pine Creek, Noyes, Lamar and Dunnstable townships.

And there is the rare independent on the ballot. That infrequent occurrence is taking place in Lock Haven where longtime Republican Rick Conklin changed his registration not all that long ago to independent and went through the process of getting sufficient names on a petition to be on the November ballot. Why did he change from Republican to independent, you ask? Let’s just say he was not overly enamored with our country’s 45th president.

(This independent option is an interesting one. There is hearsay out there that a previously unsuccessful Republican candidate for county commissioner has gone all independent on us with an eye towards running for commissioner in 2023 as an independent; that could be entertaining but we’ll just have to be patient).
Perhaps most disappointing with the upcoming election are the four seats up for four-year terms on the Keystone Central School Board.

The problem is not with the several incumbents; we salute them for their willingness to seek another term. The problem is that no too many of us are willing to step up and serve on the school board; all the incumbents had no opposition in the primary and will win walkovers in November. That is fine for them, but one can only wish there would be more county residents seeking to serve their community through a stint on the school board.

In fact in one region, the greater Renovo area, there is no one on the ballot after incumbent Eric Probert elected not to seek another term (although a Down River western Clinton County mole says he might be persuaded to offer up his name for a second term if no one else comes forward).

In the meantime, and this has been written here many times before, register to vote. Don’t leave these decisions to others. Here are your key dates, per the county’s voter registration office:

October 18, 2021 – Last Day to Register, change address or change party affiliation before the November Election.

October 26, 2021 – Last Day before the November election on which official applications for mail-in or absentee ballots may be received by county boards of election due at 5 PM.

November 2, 2021 – Election Day. Polls are open 7 am to 8 pm.  All mail-in and absentee ballots must be received by the county board of elections not later than 8 PM on this day to be counted.