For the second election in a row, it appears the person serving as Chair of the Pottsville Area school board has failed to secure a party nomination in the Primary.
On Tuesday, Chair Mike Cardamone appears to have finished 6th on both the Republican and Democrat ballots, failing to secure one of the 5 nominations up for grabs on each.
He joins former Chairman Noble Quandel as board chairmen who failed to advance out of the Primary election after they were named Chair. Quandel lost the 2021 Primary elections for both parties.
There is an outside shot that Cardamone could get enough of the write-in votes cast to overtake 5th place in each party. He trails 5th place finisher Kerry Ansbach by 27 votes on the GOP ticket, where 45 write-ins were cast.
On the Democrat ticket, Cardamone trails Ansbach by 22 votes. There were 32 write-in votes entered on ballots in that race.
If he fails to get enough of those write-in votes, the same 5 people won each of the nominations on the Democrat and GOP tickets Tuesday.
Linda Wytovich picked up the most votes on the Democrat side. Rachael Schuettler Hobbs won on the GOP ticket.
Jamie Gunoskey was unable to get a nomination on either ticket, like Cardamone.
| Pottsville Area (GOP) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% reported) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Rachael Schuettler Hobbs | 1,026 |
| ✅ Linda Wytovich | 892 |
| ✅ Craig Shields | 802 |
| ✅ Ashley DeWitt | 796 |
| ✅ Kerry Ansbach | 775 |
| Mike Cardamone | 748 |
| Jamie Gunoskey | 575 |
| Write-in | 45 |
| Pottsville Area (DEM) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% reported) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Linda Wytovich | 862 |
| ✅ Ashley DeWitt | 856 |
| ✅ Rachael Schuettler Hobbs | 850 |
| ✅ Craig Shields | 789 |
| ✅ Kerry Ansbach | 650 |
| Mike Cardamone | 628 |
| Jamie Gunoskey | 450 |
| Write-in | 32 |
More School Board Race Results
Here’s a look at how the other contested races for school boards across Schuylkill County turned out on Tuesday:
Blue Mountain
Six people will advance from the major parties from the Primary elections in Blue Mountain School District.
Becky Wehr Miller won on the GOP ticket. The other 4 apparent winners on Tuesday from the GOP side include Timothy Grube, Krista Strause, Michelle Vesay, and John Campomizzi Sr.
Strause won the most votes on the Democrat ticket. Vesay, Grube, and Miller also won nominations there, too. Michael Zvalaren picked up the 5th nomination among Democrat voters.
| Blue Mountain (GOP) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Becky Wehr Miller | 2,023 |
| ✅ Timothy G. Grube | 1,900 |
| ✅ Krista Strause | 1,818 |
| ✅ Michelle Vesay | 1,628 |
| ✅ John T. Campomizzi Sr. | 1,375 |
| Joshua L. Whaley | 1,370 |
| Write-in | 60 |
| Blue Mountain (DEM) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Krista Strause | 629 |
| ✅ Michelle Vesay | 603 |
| ✅ Timothy G. Grube | 587 |
| ✅ Becky Wehr Miller | 566 |
| ✅ Michael Zvalaren | 522 |
| Joshua L. Whaley | 447 |
Minersville Area
Six people also advanced out of the Primary elections in Minersville Area School District and will face off for the 5 seats available in November.
James O’Brien Jr. was the top vote getter on both tickets Tuesday. He’ll be joined by Michael Andruchek, James T. Croley II, Albert Marazas, Kevin Wigoda, and Keith Adams on the ballot in November.
Adams appears to have gotten the last of 5 nominations on the Democrat ticket, but finished outside the top 5 on the GOP side. Croley picked up a GOP nomination but not so on the Democrat side.
W. Alexander Kurtek failed to secure a nomination from either party’s voters.
| Minersville Area (GOP) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ James O'Brien Jr. | 515 |
| ✅ Michael J. Andruchek | 408 |
| ✅ James T. Croley II | 391 |
| ✅ Albert D. Marazas | 378 |
| ✅ Kevin Wigoda | 353 |
| Keith Adams | 330 |
| W. Alexander Kurtek | 295 |
| Minersville Area (DEM) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ James O'Brien Jr. | 467 |
| ✅ Albert D. Marazas | 403 |
| ✅ Michael J. Andruchek | 398 |
| ✅ Kevin Wigoda | 368 |
| ✅ Keith Adams | 294 |
| W. Alexander Kurtek | 272 |
| James T. Croley II | 259 |
North Schuylkill
Voters in the North Schuylkill School District had 2 races on their ballots Tuesday. Four 4-year seat nominations were up for grabs as well as a single, 2-year seat.
In the 4-year term race, 5 candidates advanced to the General Election. Michael Kiehl was the winner among Republicans. The other 3 GOP nominations go to Mary Anne Woodward, Raymond Reichwein, and Roy Green.
Woodward (the winner among Democrats), Green, and Kiehl also secured that party’s nominaton, as did Philip Rapant Jr., who finished 4th in that race.
Reichwein is just 21 votes behind Rapant on the Democrat side with 30 write-in votes cast.
| North Schuylkill (GOP) (4yr) - Top 4 win | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Michael C. Kiehl | 1,033 |
| ✅ Mary Anne Woodward | 928 |
| ✅ Raymond Reichwein | 851 |
| ✅ Roy C. Green | 848 |
| Brian Keller | 732 |
| Randy Lattis | 643 |
| Philip Rapant Jr. | 533 |
| James R. Samelko Jr. | 397 |
| North Schuylkill (DEM) (4yr) - Top 4 win | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Mary Anne Woodward | 581 |
| ✅ Roy C. Green | 475 |
| ✅ Michael C. Kiehl | 450 |
| ✅ Philip Rapant Jr. | 360 |
| Raymond Reichwein | 339 |
| Randy Lattis | 332 |
| James R. Samelko Jr. | 220 |
One nomination for a 2-year seat on North Schuylkill school board was available on Tuesday, too.
Woodward emerged victorious in the Democrat vote while Kiehl won the GOP election. Woodward was second among Republican voters and Kiehl the same among Democrats. Green finished 3rd in both races.
| North Schuylkill (GOP) (2yr) - Top 1 wins | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Michael C. Kiehl | 423 |
| Mary Anne Woodward | 340 |
| Roy C. Green | 276 |
| Raymond Reichwein | 270 |
| Lori Jalonski | 218 |
| Philip Rapant Jr. | 154 |
| North Schuylkill (DEM) (2yr) - Top 1 wins | Votes (100% in) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Mary Anne Woodward | 292 |
| Michael C. Kiehl | 145 |
| Roy C. Green | 134 |
| Raymond Reichwein | 102 |
| Philip Rapant Jr. | 86 |
Tamaqua Area
It appears 7 candidates will be advancing beyond the Primary vote in Tamaqua Area School District. However, a very close race and the number of write-in votes may change these results.
Five seats are up for grabs so each party picked 5 on Tuesday.
For now, it appears Thomas Bertasavage Jr., Trina Schellhammer, and Melanie Dillman won nominations from both parties.
Daniel Schoener and Larry Wittig appear to have secured a Republican nomination. And Jessica Tirpak and Samuel Koch got Democrat nominations during the Primary vote.
However, the 60 write-in votes could have an impact on the Democrat side. Schoener finished just 2 votes behind Koch, 11 votes behind Tirpak, and 13 votes behind Bertasavage on that ticket.
There were just 32 write-ins on the Republican ticket and the spread was nearly 400 votes between 5th and 6th place on that side.
| Tamaqua Area (GOP) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% reported) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Thomas J. Bartasavage Jr. | 1,508 |
| ✅ Trina M. Schellhammer | 1,497 |
| ✅ Daniel E. Schoener | 1,395 |
| ✅ Larry A. Wittig | 1,385 |
| ✅ Melanie I.S. Dillman | 1,361 |
| Bob Caputo | 967 |
| Jessica Tirpak | 866 |
| Samuel John Koch | 805 |
| Tamaqua Area (DEM) - Top 5 win | Votes (100% reported) |
|---|---|
| ✅ Trina M. Schellhammer | 397 |
| ✅ Melanie I.S. Dillman | 375 |
| ✅ Thomas J. Bartasavage Jr. | 335 |
| ✅ Jessica Tirpak | 333 |
| ✅ Samuel John Koch | 324 |
| Daniel E. Schoener | 322 |
| Larry A. Wittig | 206 |
| Write-in | 60 |
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