Clinton County primary election on Tuesday

LOCK HAVEN, PA – Pennsylvania’s municipal primary election is set for Tuesday, dedicated to local races, from Clinton County Commissioner to township supervisor and everything in between.

Atop the list in this year’s municipal election is that for Clinton County Commissioner, each of the county’s two major parties nominating two candidates each, the top three vote-getters in November winning four-year terms in the Piper Building beginning in 2024.

Current county commissioner/board chairman Miles Kessinger, a Republican, had announced earlier he would not see re-election. Four Republicans are running in the primary. They are incumbent commissioner Jeff Snyder, Lock Haven city council member Doug Byerly, retired Lock Haven contractor Jim Russo, and Michele Whitney, a principal in the Clinton County Watchdog organization. The four in March drew lots to determine their listing on the May ballot and they finished this way: Whitney, Byerly, Russo and Snyder.

Incumbent Democratic commissioner Angela Harding is the only member of her party to file nominating petitions. Democratic officialdom has mounted something of a low-key campaign to get party member Joan Heller on the November ballot by securing the second nomination. To do that, she would have to get at least 100 write-in votes and more than any write-in total from a GOP candidate. GOP candidate Byerly had approached some members of the Democratic Party asking for their write-in votes. Should a GOP candidate win one of the two Democratic nominations on Tuesday, it would give the Republican Party an opportunity to claim all three commissioner seats in a county with a decided GOP registration edge.

All other row office positions see incumbents who did not draw any opposition from either party. They are District Attorney Dave Strouse (D), Prothonotary Cindy Love (R), Sheriff Kerry Stover (D) and Register & Record Jennifer Hoy (R).

All three of the county’s district justice positions are on the ballot this year, but only the Mill Hall area seat, where incumbent John Maggs is retiring, will see a competition. Three candidates have cross-filed there: Jed Hill, Heidi Wright and Kristin Smith. Incumbent Lock Haven area district judge Keith Kibler is unopposed, as is Renovo area judge Frank Mills.

Five of the Keystone Central School District’s nine board seats are up this year and four of those will see primary contests. Wayne Koch is the longtime District I representative, but he is not seeking re-election. Running to replace him are Mary Ann Clark, Dawn Moyer and Chris Scaff. Region IV will see a primary race between incumbent Jeff Johnston and Karen Poorman; in Region VIII it will be incumbent Rick Schulze versus challenger Tom Cannon. Board president David Dietrich in Region VI is being challenged by William Baldino.

Incumbent KCSD board member Polly Donahay in Region III has no primary opponent.

There is a three-way race for the two Republican nominations for the parttime county post of auditor, three to be elected in November. The GOP candidates are incumbent Brooke Fravel, along with Jacqui Anastos and Cathy Gedon. Incumbent Michelle Crowell will be the lone candidate on the Democratic primary ballot.

There are also dozens and dozens of local races, from township supervisor to the mayor of Lock Haven, on the primary ballot.

Only Republicans and Democrats may vote on Tuesday as Pennsylvania is a “closed primary” state. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the weatherman is predicting party cloudy skies with high temperatures in the mid-70s.

Therecord-online will be streaming the primary results from the county’s Piper Building Tuesday night.