Nazareth Borough Council Races

Thanks to the Northampton County Election office for posting these (not sure when they went up, but it was sometime after 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday):

COUNCIL NAZARETH 1ST WARD 4 YEAR TERM
(Vote for not more than Two)
Ballots Cast: 380
Candidate(s)	Vote Count	Pct. (%)
Frank S. Maurek (DEM)	93	24.47
Michael Kopach (DEM)	85	22.37
Jennie Williams (DEM)	67	17.63
Conrad F. Bowers, Jr. (DEM)	55	14.47
UnderVotes	80	21.05
OverVotes	0	0.00

First Ward seemed to have been the most interesting of the races with four vying for two seats on the Democrat side and incumbent Conrad Bowers finishing fourth of four.

Also of interest is that while there were no candidates on the Republican side, there were 32 write-in votes and as I understand it, if one of the names had ten or more votes, they will be on the ticket making it three vying for two seats in the fall. I did not see if this was the case or who the individual is.

Second Ward - Larry Stoudt was the only Republican candidate and Thomas Heckman was the only one on the Democrat side, but again, there were 15 write-ins listed under Heckman and two positions available, so there could be a second candidate for the Dems in November.

Third Ward - Featured two 'contests', one for a four year term and Dan Chiavaroli was the only candidate, and one for the two year term to finish former Councilman Davis' term. In that race Charlie Donello and Fred Daugherty won their parties bids in uncontested races.

Bowers may have been the only surprise in the sense that incumbents who run typically fare well, however, he was part of the group advocating the expansion at Hall Park and further upset some residents with his refusal to allow open meetings in accordance with the Sunshine Law. In local politics, you don't need to upset many people to lose your seat. The difference between fourth and first was only 40 votes.

It will be real interesting to see if any write-ins made it onto the ballot for the fall.