Edward Tarantelli surprised many on Tuesday night by picking up the Republican and Democrat nominations for District Judge 21-2-01 in northern Schuylkill County.
It was one of the more hotly contested races in the 2021 Schuylkill County Municipal Primary Election with 6 candidates cross-filing for the six-year term as judge.
Tarantelli picked up the nod from Democrats by securing 386 votes on Tuesday. Todd Selgrade was next closest on that ticket with 333 votes.
Tarantelli also got he Republican nomination and blew away his competition among GOP voters. He racked up 1,031 votes, nearly double that of second-place John Malinchok’s 552 votes.
By sweeping both parties’ nominations, Tarantelli is almost assured of winning the General Election in November.
2021 Schuylkill County Municipal Primary Election Recap
That wasn’t the only contested race locally on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at some of the other Primary election races across Schuylkill County.
4 Sweep Mahanoy Area School Board Race
Six candidates were in the running for 4 nominations on the Mahanoy Area school board.
Karen Yedsena, John Honus, Steven Gnall, and Jim Mitchell finished in that order on both the GOP and Democrat vote Tuesday. They’ve essentially clinched a win in November.
Mary Fran Zack and Larry Levy each finished out of the running for one of the nomations and a chance to appear on the ballot in the General Election.
6 Advance to General Election for Minersville Area School Board
It was a question of who wasn’t running for public office in Minersville this year. Voters had plenty to choose from on Tuesday. And in the Minersville Area School District race, voters decided to send 6 candidates on to the November election.
Sarah Newton was the top-vote getter among Democrats and finished 3rd in the GOP race so she’ll be there in the Fall. Jessica McGrath finished 1st among GOP voters – by just a 4-vote margin – and 2nd among Democrats, so she’ll join Newton on November’s ballot. Angel Demario and William Kurtek earned nominations from Democrat voters while Christopher Bowers and Cynthia Lubinsky picked up the other GOP nominations.
Those 6 candidates will be up for 4 open seats on the Minersville Area school board.
Robert Keifer didn’t cross-file and finished last among Democrats. Carmine Caccavale also didn’t cross-file and finished last among Republicans. Each misses out on a chance to win in November.
North Schuylkill Race Essentially Decided During Primary
Voters in the North Schuylkill School District sent 5 candidates on to the General Election in November.
Glenn Weist, Suzanne O’Neill, Douglas Gressens, Tom Fletcher, and Janine Sims picked up the nominations from both parties and are pretty much a lock to win in November. Donna Salem and David Seresky were unable to get a nomination from voters in either party.
4 Squeak Out Victories for Schuylkill Haven School Board
Voters removed all the drama from the Schuylkill Haven school board race on Tuesday, too. Among the 5 candidates vying for the 4 seats available, voters on both sides picked Sandy Hess, Diane McGoey, Julie Wisner, and Donald Bud Runkle.
Ali Jenan finished 5th on the Democrat and Republican tally and missed out on a nomination.
Municipal Races Decided
Voters in many Schuylkill County municipalities also had a chance pick their next borough council members, township supervisors and mayors.
To see how those Primary races were settled, check out our tally board of all the contested races from Tuesday night:
MORE RACES:
- YES! Pennsylvania Rejects Wolf’s Dictatorial Use of Emergency Powers
- Hale, Hobbs, Conville Earn Nominations for Court of Common Pleas
- Major Upset in Pottsville Area School Board Race?
- 2021 Schuylkill County Municipal Primary Candidates
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