PORT MATILDA

Interim mayor wins in write-in campaign

Nick Malawskey

PORT MATILDA --While it may not have garnered the attention of other races in the county, in the town of Port Matilda a tightly-contested question of mayoral succession played out Tuesday at the polling station on South High Street.

It began in May, when Republican Mike Duminiak appeared to have the mayor’s seat locked in following the primary election.

The Port Matilda resident had run without opposition — then-incumbent mayor, Elvira “Vi” Duncan had not sought reelection — for the Republican nomination. No one ran for the Democratic nomination either, meaning Duminiak appeared to have a clear shot on the November ballot.

However, in June, when Duncan announced she would retire and move out of town, the Borough Council did not appoint Duminiak to fill her position.

Instead, it turned to Robert Wiser, who has lived in Port Matilda for 60 years, served as the town’s postmaster and is a close friend to Duncan.

At that time, Wiser was serving as borough secretary, having been elected to the position earlier this year by council in a tie vote that was decided by Duncan. Following his appointment as interim mayor, Wiser resigned the secretary post.

“I was appointed to fill this vacancy and later I decided to run for it,” Wiser said. “I kind of enjoyed it.”

Wiser and his supporters mounted what he described as a “last-minute” campaign, writing letters and placing signs urging voters to write in his name for mayor.

The voters in the borough responded, casting 159 votes Tuesday, 96 of which were write-ins in the mayoral race.

While the results have not yet been certified, an unofficial count of the ballots has Wiser taking the seat with at least a 25-vote margin, with 73 write-in votes compared with 48 votes cast for Duminiak.

Although defeated in the race for mayor, Duminiak also appears to have won a seat — that of constable — through write-in votes.

Duminiak could not be reached for comment Friday. It was his second time seeking the job of mayor — he led a write-in campaign in 2005, in which he was narrowly defeated by Duncan.

Wiser said he thinks the mayoral race brought more voters out to the polls Tuesday than would have voted otherwise. About 46 percent of the town’s 349 registered voters cast their lots during the day.

“Everyone was expecting about a 25 percent turnout,” he said. “I’d like to think that I stirred things up a bit. ... It stirred up some interest, that’s what it did.”

Nick Malawskey may be reached at 235-3928.