Aug 1, 2013 4 min read

Libertarians, independents and those who will be party standard-bearers due to vacancies in local offices filed documents with the Washington County elections office by the 4:30 p.m. deadline Thursday so their names will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The Libertarian Party filed a slate of candidates in Houston Borough, where former 12th Congressional District candidate Demosthenes Agoris led recruiting efforts. JoAnn Pellman, an office manager, is running for both mayor and council while Agoris is running for both council and tax collector.

N.M. “Nick” Galbraith, a retiree, and J.G. “Grady” Paxton, an electrical engineer, rounded out the Libertarian council slate.

If the slate holds up beyond the challenge and withdrawal deadlines, Pellman will be facing Democratic nominee James Stubenbordt for mayor, and, on borough council, where four are to be elected, the Libertarians will be facing Democratic council nominees David Schmalz and Larry W. Scears. The Democratic tax collector nominee is Debra Askew.

In North Strabane Township, Neil Kelly, a consultant and part-owner of the horse Shaleni Farm LLC of Eighty Four, is seeking a supervisor’s seat as an independent. He did not specify if he is seeking the two-year term or the six-year term, and he did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

He can’t run for both terms; for that scenario, he would have had to have filed two sets of nominating papers, according to the elections office.

Regardless of which seat Kelly chooses, he will be running against Republican Robert F. Balogh and Democrat Bill Brooks, both of whom won their parties’ nominations for both the six-year and two-year terms.

In North Franklin Township, James Huff, chairman of the board of supervisors resigned in April, citing health reasons, and the remaining board members, Dennis Dydiw and Silvio Passalacqua, appointed Alex Migyanko to fill the vacancy until the first Monday in January.

Democratic Committee members chose Martha T. Ward of Ridgewood Drive, who described herself as a retiree working as a part-time secretary at Liberty United Methodist Church, 1330 Banetown Road, Washington, as a candidate for a four-year term to replace Huff.

Migyanko, however, is running as an independent for both six-year and four-year terms.

Nominees for the six-year term chosen by voters from their respective parties in the May 21 primary were Michael W. Quinn, Republican, and Ron Junko, Democrat.

In Deemston, Betty Ann Harbaugh of Hastings Road, an accountant and fiscal assistant for Beth-Center School District, filed as an independent candidate for tax collector. No one filed for the office in the primary election.

The Washington County elections office is notifying Democratic and Republican party officials in South Franklin and Peters townships that they have until Sept. 16 to fill vacancies that have occurred since the May 21 primary.

In South Franklin Township, solicitor James Jeffries let the elections office know that Donald Painter, chairman of the board of supervisors, resigned June 29 because he moved out of the township. William Kline was appointed to replace him as a board member, and Jeffries said Kline is interested in running in the fall for the remaining four years of Painter’s term.

In Peters Township, Manager Michael Silvestri notified the elections office that a vacancy for an at-large seat on council occurred with the death last month of Robert Atksion. The Peters home rule charter calls for council to appoint a replacement under a particular time constraint, but that this appears to be in conflict with the state Election Code.

Washington County Elections Director Larry Spahr, after conferring with County Solicitor Mary Lyn Drewitz, let the township know that the state code supersedes the home rule charter and that committee members of major parties will have the opportunity to appoint candidates.