ELECTION 2015

A10 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015

LNP | LANCASTER, PA

OTE

2015 LNP Voters Guide

ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY, NOV. 3 n POLLS ARE OPEN 7 A.M.-8 P.M.

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.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I find results?
What if I have problems voting?

Where do I vote?

If you dont know where your

polling place is, visit votespa.com
and click the link under Where is
my polling place? Enter your home
address, and the site will tell you the
street address of your polling place
and give you directions.

If you have problems at your polling place, call the

Lancaster County Elections Office at 299-8293. You can
also stop by the Elections Office at 150 N. Queen St., Suite
117. Thats the former Armstrong building at Queen and
Chestnut streets. If youd like to report a voting problem
to the newspaper, call 291-8622. If youre on Twitter, tweet
voting problems or issues using #LancasterVotes.

The results will start filtering into the

Lancaster County Elections Office a short
time after the polls close at 8 p.m. Check
LancasterOnline for live coverage and
breaking news throughout the day and
evening.

Should I expect
long lines?

Probably not. This is not a

presidential election year,
and turnout is typically
low.

ELECTION 2015: BY THE NUMBERS

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

n David Wecht (Democrat): 53, Superior

Court judge, Pittsburgh
n Kevin M. Dougherty (Democrat): 53,
Philadelphia Common Pleas judge,
Philadelphia
n Christine Donohue (Democrat): 62,
Superior Court judge, Pittsburgh
n Judy Olson (Republican): 58, Superior
Court judge, Pittsburgh

n Mike George (Republican): 56, Adams

County Common Pleas judge, Gettysburg

n Anne Covey (Republican): 55,

Commonwealth Court judge, New Hope

n Paul P. Panepinto (Independent): 66,

Philadelphia Common Pleas judge,
Philadelphia

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

Whos who: State Supreme Court candidates

WATCH THE VIDEO | LNP Editorial Board interviews with all seven candidates: lancasteronline.com/election2015

HARRISBURG (AP) Pledging to restore integrity on the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court while shattering records for campaign spending, seven judges are vying for an unprecedented
three open seats in the Nov. 3 election. Sketches of the candidates are below:

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

trial lawyer and litigator for

some of Pittsburghs leading
law firms by the time she was
elected to the state Superior
Court in 2007.
Donohue, 62, also served on
state panels that oversee allegations of misconduct by
judges and lawyers the Judicial Conduct Board and Court
of Judicial Discipline, which
investigate and decide complaints involving judges, and
the Supreme Courts Disciplinary Board, which handles
complaints against lawyers.
A Democrat, Donohue said
shes never seen a case decided
on the basis of political affiliation: The minute that youre
sworn in as a judge, your partisan politics are gone, she said
in the debate.
The bar panel awarded the
Pittsburgh resident a highly
recommended rating.
The daughter of a coal miner
and a seamstress from northeastern Pennsylvania, Donohue graduated from Duquesne
University Law School. As a
judge on the states main midlevel appellate court, she has
issued written decisions in
more than 2,000 cases over
the past seven years.

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,

a Republican who appointed

him to fill a vacancy in 2001.
Dougherty, 55, won the first
of two 10-year terms later that
year.
Much of the campaign money flowing to Dougherty comes
from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Philadelphia local, where his
politically connected brother
John is the business manager,
and from other unions and trial lawyers who have helped all
three Democratic candidates.
A 1988 graduate of Antioch
Law School in Washington,
Dougherty received a state bar
panel rating of recommended.
Dougherty said the high court
needs to get past its scandals: It
is time for closure, and the election of three new justices will do
exactly that.

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

all the voters of Pennsylvania,

not because of a party label
but because I believe in justice above politics, he said at a
Harrisburg debate earlier this
month.
Fresh out of Widener
Universitys Delaware Law
School in 1977, Panepinto
worked as an attorney in
the citys family court for
13 years before Gov. Robert
P. Casey appointed him to
fill a vacant judgeship on
the Philadelphia bench. He
also served four years on
the state Court of Judicial
Discipline, which oversees
the conduct of state judges,
and has a masters degree in
political science from Villanova University.

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

Clerk of the Lancaster

County Court of
Common Pleas
Vote for 1
n Eric D. Rutherford (Democrat): 27, warehouse
receiver at Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative;
hometown is Lancaster
n Jacquelyn Pfursich (Republican): 33, assistant
county solicitor; Lancaster

Lancaster County
Prothonotary

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A11

Magisterial District Judges

Magisterial district judges receive an annual salary of $88,290 and serve six years. They handle arraignments, minor
criminal offenses, traffic citations and nontraffic ordinance violations, marriage ceremonies, emergency protectionfrom-abuse petitions and civil cases up to $12,000. While they do not have to be lawyers, they are required to complete
a training course offered by the state and attend 32 hours of continuing-education courses each year.

Magisterial District Judge

District 2-1-01

Magisterial District Judge

District 02-3-05

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

Columbia School Director

n JoAnn B. Hentz (Democrat): 64, retired educator;

2-year term | Vote for 1

n Iris Rachael Garrido (Democrat): 42, paralegal and
notary public; Columbia
n Francis Resch (Republican): 69, crossing guard;
Columbia

Ephrata School Director

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

Little Britain Township

Supervisor
6-year term | Vote for 1
n Peg Donohoe (Democrat): 73, retired;
Nottingham
n Daniel B. Proffitt Jr. (Republican): 56, owner
of Econ Refuse Service; Kirkwood

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

4-year term | Vote for no more than 5

n Cathy Gelatka (Democrat): 61, retired speech
pathologist; Lititz
n Charles Hample (Democrat): 42, teacher at School
District of Lancaster; Lititz
n Scott Shaub (Republican): 59, environmental, health
and safety coordinator at Armstrong World Industries;
Lititz
n Todd Rucci (Republican): 45, works in government
relations at PAP Technologies; Lititz
n Nelson L. Peters (Republican): 68, retired senior staff
industrial engineer; Lititz
n Benedict R. Sahd (Republican): 61, retired educator;
Lititz
n Leslie Penkunas (Republican): 50, freelance editor and
writer; Lititz

4-year term | Vote for no more than 5

n Diane L. Gerlach (Democrat): 74, retired; Landisville
n Daniel K. Forry (cross-filed): 74, retired agriculturist;
Columbia
n William H. Otto (cross-filed): 73, retired; Landisville
n James H. Maurer, Jr. (cross-filed): 57, chief financial
officer at Sechan Electronics; Landisville
n Adam T. Aloisi (cross-filed): 43, independent investor;
Lancaster
n Grant W. Keener (Republican): 46, attorney; East
Petersburg

Manheim Township School

Director

Offices of Stephen W. Grosh; Lancaster

n Lynn M. Miller (Republican): 59, executive assistant at
Harrowgate Fine Foods; Lancaster

Manheim Township School

Director
2-year term | Vote for 1
n Keli Celot (Democrat): 40, Realtor; Lancaster
n Grace Strittmatter (Republican): 71, retired; Lancaster

Warwick School Director

4-year term | Vote for no more than 5

n Nikki Rivera (Democrat): 43, teacher at Warwick
School District; Lancaster

4-year term | Vote for no more than 4

n Barry Ford (Democrat): 57, retired newspaper
editor; Columbia
n Mary E. Barninger (Republican): 52,
management; Columbia
n Kelly Murphy (Republican): 55, quality
assurance specialist; Columbia
n Cleon G. Berntheizel (Republican): 54,
business owner; Columbia
n Robert F. Granzow III (Republican): 54,
deputy coroner; Columbia

2-year term | Vote for no more than 2

n Leah Nagle (Republican, Democrat): 34,
homemaker; Marietta
n Glen A. Mazis (Democrat): 64, Penn State
professor; Marietta
n Mark Denlinger Davis (Republican): 55,
substitute teacher; Marietta

4-year term | Vote for no more than 4

n Sharon Renninger (Republican, Democrat):
58, customer service at Donegal Insurance;
Marietta
n Bridey Hannold (Democrat): 41, physicians
office manager; Marietta
n Louis C. McKinney Sr. (Democrat): 67, owner
of McKinneys Photographic Memories;
Marietta
n Harold V. Kulman (Republican, Democrat):
79, vocational consultant; Marietta
n Marcus Snow (Republican): 43, financial
adviser; Marietta
n Oliver C. Overlander II (Republican): 68,
former Marietta mayor; Marietta

the construction and real estate industries; Lancaster

Hempfield School Director

Marietta Borough
Council

Marietta Borough
Council

health care management consultant; Lititz

n Denyse Kling (Democrat): 48, yoga instructor; Lititz

n William E. Murry (Republican): 63, self-employed in

4-year term | Vote for no more than 5

n Suzanne M. Delahunt (Democrat): 57, director of music
at Grace United Church of Christ; Ephrata
n Judy S. Beiler (cross-filed): 58, pastor at The Worship
Center; Akron
n Theodore Kachel (cross-filed): 44, employee at Garden
of Eden Produce; Ephrata
n Tim Stauffer (Republican): 33, teacher at Manheim
Christian Day School; Ephrata
n Chris Weber (Republican): 32, pastor at Ephrata
Community Church; Ephrata
n Neal D. Reichard (Republican): 53, assistant director of
environmental services for Ephrata Manor; Ephrata

Columbia Borough
Council

4-year term | Vote for no more than 4

n Lauren Houck (Democrat): 33, owner of The
Growing Place Consignment; East Petersburg
n Bryan Shaffer (Democrat): 38, project
manager at Godfrey; East Petersburg
n Adam Gochnauer (Republican): 45, vice
president of Gochnauers Home Appliance
Center; East Petersburg
n Connie McElwain (Republican): 72, retired
educator; East Petersburg
n Gregory Bucher (Republican): 46, owner of
Chanceys Pub; East Petersburg
n John M. Schick (Republican): 51, senior
project manager at Rettew Associates; East
Petersburg

Case New Holland; Lancaster

n Todd Heckman (cross-filed): 48, higher education and

n Stephen W. Grosh (Republican): 38, attorney at Law

Boroughs

East Petersburg Borough

Council

Lancaster

n Mark Anderson (cross-filed): 53, facilities engineer at

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

Mount Joy Borough

Council East Ward
4-year term | Vote for no more than 2
n Kyle R. Miller (Democrat): 29, legislative
assistant for Pennsylvania Senate; Mount Joy
n Charles Glessner (Republican): 65, retired;
Mount Joy
n Jon F. Millar (Republican): 57, supervisor at
PPL Corp.; Mount Joy

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 Pennsylvania drivers license or

PennDOT ID card
n ID issued by state agencies
n ID issued by U.S. Government

n U.S. passport
n U.S. Armed Forces ID
n Student ID
n Employee ID

If you do not have a photo ID

n You can use a nonphoto identification that includes your name and
address. Approved forms of nonphoto identification include:

n Nonphoto ID issued by any

commonwealth agency
n Firearm permit
n Nonphoto ID issued
by the U.S. government
n Current utility bill

n Current bank statement

n Government check
n Voter Registration Certificate
issued by the county voter
registrar
n Current paycheck