CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — It appears write-in candidates in DuBois did something that rarely happens: beat the candidates already on the ballot. The elections office has released the unofficial results of the May 16 primary elections. And it is turning out to be a big win for write-in candidates.
Douglas Braff spoke with the county elections director and one of the write-in candidates about the results.
Dawn Graham, the director of elections and voter registration in Clearfield County, tells 6 News that while the results are unofficial, she expects little to no changes in the vote count by June 5.
"We have to give so many days for people to be able to inspect the figures and everything," she explains, "and then it'll become official."
She adds: "We've counted everything, so they should stand as they are."
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Having worked in the county elections office for about two decades, Graham says she hasn't seen this many write-in candidates for a while.
Graham says "the fact that it's DuBois City, they aren't known for writing in people. So that did make it quite the interesting races."
And even as the top-performing write-in candidates admit, it's because of the fallout from the arrest of now-suspended city manager Herm Suplizio.
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"I really thought we would win because of the situation," Pat Reasinger, the mayoral candidate with the most votes, tells 6 News. "But I didn't expect it to be that significant."
In fact, the results right now show write-in candidate Reasinger earning 408 votes on the Republican ballot and 730 on the Democratic ballot. This will earn him both parties' nominations once the results become official.
"To successfully, you know, have two write-in candidates win both nominations, is amazing," Graham remarks.
Incumbent Mayor Ed Walsh only received 198 votes, total. Thus, Reasinger could potentially run unopposed in November. It's worth noting that it's still technically possible for additional write-in candidates to put their names forward, ahead of the general election.
"It's a great little town," Reasinger mentions. "Unfortunately... politics, I've noticed, brings out the worst in some people. I would like to see all that stop and ... everybody just have a common goal to make DuBois what it should be."
"I think DuBois voters spoke, they want change," he also tells us. "They are very tired of the old boys club."He continues: "I think people know that they know me, they know the other candidates: We're not politicians. Okay, we'll be fair to everybody. ... There's nobody I would treat any different than anybody else. And that's not the way it is now. And I think the voters know that, and they just spoke out."
Let's now shift our focus to the city council races. Incumbent council member Diane Bernardo clocks in at only 179 votes; whereas the other incumbent, Shannon Gabriel, got about 354. The latter announced her resignation from the council on Thursday. Meanwhile, write-in candidates Jennifer Jackson and Elliott Gelfand received 1,106 and 983 votes in total, respectively.
Asked about the results, Gelfand sent this statement to 6 News:
"I am extremely humbled by the outpouring of support from the city of DuBois. I appreciate everyone that came prepared to the polls to cast their ballot and voice their desire for change for the city of DuBois. I look forward to serving the city of DuBois residents along with Jenn and Pat."Jackson also gave us her reaction:
"It is exciting to see the citizens have spoken and are ready for change. I am looking forward to be councilwoman and working hard for the citizens of this community that I have grown up in. We have a lot of support behind us and can’t truly thank those that voted for us enough. There is UNITY in commUNITY."Walsh has not returned our request for comment, and Bernardo could not be reached.
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