FRANKLIN COUNTY – Several Franklin County and greater Pennsylvania political seats were up for grabs in the Tuesday, May 20, primary. But with many uncontested primary seats, turnout among the nearly 87,000 GOP and Democrat voters stood at 15.7 percent.
The county has nearly 103,000 registered voters, though many are registered as Independent and unaffiliated so could not vote in the state’s closed primary election system.
Complete countywide results can be found at https://www.livevoterturnout.com/ENR/franklinpaenr/12/en/Index_12.html, and below are some key area races:
Chambersburg
Current Republican Mayor Kenneth ‘Hockey’ Hock secured the nomination for his party, while Democrat John ‘Sean’ A. Scott III will be running against him in November. First elected in November 2021, Hock will be seeking a second term.
David Wilson earned the Democratic nod with 207 votes, while Republican contender Allen Coffman gathered 192 in Ward 1. Shannon Jackson collected 150 votes running as an unopposed Democrat in Ward 2 where the GOP contender will be Austin Rosenbaum, who beat out Tom Newcomer.
In Ward 3, Curtis Shoop gathered 117 votes running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and Dom Brown collected 100 votes as the lone Republican. In Ward 4, Lucinda (Lu Ransom) Butler collected 73 Democratic votes and Stacy Short garnered 78 GOP voters. In Ward 5, Andrew Kilbride collected 164 votes and Weston Waytow 229.
And, Brenda Hill won the Republican nod for Chambersburg Tax Collector with 1,032 votes and faces no November opponent.
Waynesboro
Republican candidate Dade Royer handily defeated his opponent Douglas Carranza 509-110. Royer will replace late Mayor Richard “Dick” Starliper, who died May 16 at age 87 after serving as mayor for 19 years. He was not seeking re-election.
In Ward 1, Todd Blake edged out Janeen McChesney for the GOP nomination 119-76, while in Ward 2, Brandon Boldyga defeated Ascohi Helman 122-42 and in Ward 3, Randy Schriver garnered 226 votes running unopposed.
Kara Geesaman earned 582 votes as the Republican candidate for Tax Collector and faces no opponent in fall elections.
Greencastle
Ben F. Thomas won the Mayor’s nod with 241 GOP votes. He faces no Democratic opponent. Council candidates winning on the Democratic side were Wade G. Burkholder, 75 votes; Gavin Creamer, 65 votes; and Cameron Schroy, 88 votes; while on the GOP side H. Duane Kinzer, 132 votes, and Albert Miller, 177. Four members of the council are to be selected.
Mercersburg
Michael Pedersen won the Democratic nomination for Mayor with 74 votes and faces no GOP opposition in the fall. Jacob Morgan gathered 67 votes as the Democratic candidate for Council Member, while Donald E. Stoner Jr. and Tobey Banks collected 54 and 48 Republican votes respectively. Four seats are up for grabs.
Quincy Township
Alan Peck defeated Richard M. Wagaman 330-120 votes, and there is no Democratic opposition in November.
Antrim Township
Jaysen Cochran collected 812 votes for the Republican nomination for Township Supervisor and faces no Democratic opposition in November. Ashley Shaffer edged out GOP primary opponent Allison Flannery for Tax Collector 481-430, with no Democratic opposition in November.
Washington Township
Barb McCracken with 536 votes and C. Stewart McCleaf with 579 votes, both Republicans, won nomination to two Washington Township Supervisors seats and face no November competition. The new township Tax Collector will be Donald L. Ambrose who edged out Derek W. Hine 576-219 with no November challenger.
Judicial races
With 3,708 votes, Brandon Neuman won the Democratic nomination for Judge of the Superior Court, while Ann Marie Wheatcraft, with 4,664 votes, edged our Maria Battista for the GOP nod with Battista’s 4,142 votes.
Matt Wolford won the Republican vote in Franklin County as he did statewide for the Republican nomination for Judge of the Commonwealth Court, where he will face Stella Tsai in November. She tallied 3,700 Franklin County votes.
Kristin Diller Nicklas won both the Republican and Democratic nominations for Magisterial District Judge with a total of 2,329 votes.
Greencastle
Mary Bock gathered 222 votes as the GOP nominee for Tax Collector with no opponent in November.
Mont Alto
Ron Strite collected 108 votes as the Republican nominee for Tax Collector, also with no November opposition. Pauline Baker received 40 votes in her Democratic bid for one of four Council seats in play, and Donna Henderson and Carla Bumbaugh received 76 and 79 votes respectively on the Republican side.
Franklin County
Lisa Kauffman Helm garnered 8,588 votes to win the GOP nod for County Treasurer, where she will face no Democratic opponent in November.
Greencastle-Antrim schools
Doug Shatzer, Eileen Dickenson, Janon Gray and Rich David all won the Republican nominations for four-year School Director terms and have no Democratic opposition in November. Amber Rephann and Shannon Dunkle won the GOP nods for two-year terms and also face no November competition.
Chambersburg schools
Faye H. Gaugler won both the Republican and Democratic nomination for School Director, as did Edward Norcross and Sherian Diller so are all assured of a win in November. Ann Weibley received 435 votes between the Republican and Democratic primaries, but will face off against Gary Piper, who won 394 votes to secure the GOP nomination.
Waynesboro schools
Kimberly Miles won her race for the Democratic nomination for one Waynesboro Area School District slot but faces no November opposition, while Lindsay Weaver edged out Steven McRae 388-368 to win the GOP nod for another seat, again with no November opponents. Shane Harkins won the final seat defeating Bradley Kiracofe 438-339 for the GOP nomination with no Democratic opponent for November.
Shippensburg schools
Becky Wolfinger won a seat as a School Director running as both a Democrat and Republican and garnering 754 total votes with no opposition.
Looking to November
With this election, many elected were default winners, running unopposed or dwarfing their opposing candidates.
Between the defaults and the voter turnout, the message seems to be: get out the vote and stay involved.
