PHILIPSBURG

Write-in candidates fail to get into council

Mike Joseph

PHILIPSBURG — Two candidates split a big write-in vote for Philipsburg Borough Council, erasing each other's chance to get more votes than any of the candidates on the ballot, unofficial returns showed Wednesday.

The returns showed Sam Womer with 134 write-in votes and Jack Minarchick with 130 and the remainder of the 271 write-ins scattered among other candidates.

That means the top four vote-getters on the ballot — Democrat Barbara Gette (357), Republican David Dixon (274), Republican Harry Wood (226) and Republican Michael Wilks (210) — won the council seats up for election, according to the unofficial returns.

The Borough Council election was a seven-way race for four seats, the result of a decision by the council to reduce the number of seats by abolishing the system of ward representation that has maintained a nine-member council.

Centre County Judge Bradley P. Lunsford last summer granted the borough’s petition to do away with the ward system, and directed that the four people elected Tuesday be at-large representatives, with three more at-large council members to be elected in 2011, to achieve a seven-member council.

The unsuccessful candidates for the seats in Tuesday’s election were Democrats Matthew Yarnell and Robert “Jody” Dean, and Republican Wanda McDonald.

Mike Joseph can be reached at 235-3910.