Election night was a historic one for the North Penn Area Democrats, as their slate of candidates pulled off a near-sweep of their Republican opponents.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Upper Gwynedd Township, where longtime Republican commissioners Thomas Duffy, Ken Kroberger and Jim Santi—who have been in office for a combined 82 years—were swept out by Democratic newcomers Katherine Carter, Martha Simelaro and Ruth Damsker on Tuesday evening. The results are as follows:
With the three new commissioners in wait, 2020 will be a historic year for the Upper Gwynedd Township Board of Commissioners, as all five commissioner seats will be held by Democratic women.
At the school board level, the North Penn Neighbors for Progress candidates also pulled off a clean sweep of their Republican counterparts, with newcomer Cathy Wesley leading the way for the Dems. The results are as follows:
On the two-year term side for the school board, Democratic candidate Al Roesch defeated Ed Smith by more than 3,000 votes, 13,309 to 10,196.
In Lansdale Borough, Democratic incumbents Bill Henning, Rich DiGregorio, BJ Breish and Denton Burnell all retained their seats by way of running unopposed, though there were a handful of collective write-in votes. They will be joined by Democratic newcomer Meg Currie Teoh, who also ran unopposed and will fill the vacancy left by longtime councilman Jack Hansen.
The sweep continued in Montgomery Township, as Democratic candidates Beth Staab and Annette Long defeated their Republican opposition by hundreds of votes each. Additionally, Democratic auditor candidates Alan Malachowski and Beverly Dodds ran unopposed. The results are as follows:
In North Wales Borough, Democratic candidates Mark Tarlecki and incumbent Sal Amato won their seats after running unopposed, and both Sherwin Collins and incumbent Wendy McClure defeated Republican challenger Erick Myers for seats in Ward One. The results are as follows:
Not all was lost for the North Penn area Republicans, however.
In Hatfield Borough, incumbent Republican councilman Larry Stevens retained his seat, and he was joined by Republican candidate Sal DiLisio Jr. in his victory. Both men ran unopposed.
In Hatfield Township, Democratic candidate Deb Zimmerman pulled off an upset victory in Ward Three, defeating incumbent Republican and Board of Commissioners Vice President Larry Hughes by eight votes. In Ward One, Republican candidate Greg Lees won by way of no opposition, and in Ward Five, incumbent Republican Gerald Andris defended his seat against Democratic challenger Corinne Landauer and Libertarian Henry Conoly. The results are as follows:
Republican candidates also pulled off decisive victories in Towamencin Township, with Don Lepp and Joseph Gibbons running unopposed for auditor, and incumbent supervisors Laura Smith and Chuck Wilson fending off competition from Democratic newcomers Joyce Snyder and Peter Murphy. The results are as follows:
North Penn Now has reached out to both parties in an effort to secure comment. Should we receive a response, we will update this article accordingly.
See also:
Candidate Editorial Submissions For Election 2019
Letter To The Editor: Laura Smith And Chuck Wilson, For Towamencin Supervisor
Letter to the Editor: Annette Long, for Montgomery Township Supervisor
Letter to the Editor: Joyce Snyder and Peter Murphy, for Towamencin Supervisor
Letter to the Editor: North Penn Neighbors for Progress, School Board Candidates
Letter to the Editor: Denton Burnell, for Lansdale Borough Council
Letter to the Editor: John Waldenberger, for Montgomery County Commissioner
Letter To The Editor: Henry Conoly, For Hatfield Township Commissioner
