May 19 – With the results of the Pennsylvania primary still coming in, one big take away is every vote is incredibly important.
In terms of the Chambersburg Area School Board race, in Region 3, Dr. Sherian Diller, a retired superintendent form Waynesboro, won her seat easily on the Republican side.
Remember school board members can cross-file and on the Democratic side, she won by one vote.
One. Vote.
It may have been yours.
Nothing highlights the importance of voting more than winning by one vote. Despite any predictions before any election day, we really do not know what could happen.
Attorney Clint Barkdoll, Pat Ryan and Michele Jansen discussed the local elections this morning on First News.
Barkdoll said, “It appears that the people who were running with the outsider message – the message that we want change, we think things could be better managed, we don’t like how things were handled during COVID, it looks like that was a formula for success across the board with these school board candidates. Assuming they would all continue to prevail in the fall, you’re looking at maybe big changes in local school boards come December when these new people take office.”
Jansen pointed out that “those five that ran as a as a block, in Greencastle-Antrim, four of the five are the four that got on the Republican side. They very much were advocating there were some things not being handled correctly and they wanted change.”
In Chambersburg Borough Council, Dom Brown won over Barb Beattie for the Republican ticket.
Barkdoll said, “Some of these people did win on the Democratic write-ins and there’s still a chance they could win in the fall, but generally the Republican nominee that’s going to appear on that Republican fall ballot, odds are pretty high that they’re going to win.”
Jansen warned, “Although this year I wouldn’t take anything for granted. Don’t sit back on the laurels. Really work hard.”
Ryan noted, “Dom plowed through. Dom is not in the usual suspects camp and he wants interaction with business and he’s out there. He’s put himself out there. The rest of them it just seems like, let’s just show up to council, let’s have our little snack, let’s have our little water and we’ll be done with it. I think Dom’s got a good street game.”
Barkdoll agreed, “I do too. He’s well known. He has stayed very engaged in Chambersburg over the last few years and I think that has served him well.”
County-wide turnout for the election was only 23%. In the fall, that number could be even lower.
Barkdoll said, “These candidates, whether they’re on the Republican or Democrat nominee in the fall, they’ve got to turn out their supporters. These are races that really could come down to a handful of votes in the fall and if that 23% ticks even lower, you’re going to see successful candidates with just even a few hundred votes.”
Every vote counts is not a joke or hyperbole. It’s real.
If you want to see change happen and have your voice heard, you have to vote. In every election.
Classic voting machine photo from https://jimdiamond.files.wordpress.com
