A voter drops off a mail-in ballot at a ballot drop box.
For a period after the polls closed and the ballot counting began on Nov. 2, it looked like Republican challengers North Penn Stronger Together might be able to place at least two of their four candidates onto next year’s North Penn School Board. With 100% of in-person precincts reporting and an early portion of the mail-in votes tallied, challengers Michael Kennedy and Jessie Bradica had made their way into the top four selections, with incumbents Jonathan Kassa and Al Roesch III on the outside looking in.
But, in a redux of the 2020 election, a substantial amount of Montgomery County mail-in ballots — 23,000 total — needed to be counted. And like the 2020 election, some of those ballots proved to be problematic and required further attention, dragging out the tallying process over several additional days.
Following a pair of updates from the county late Wednesday evening, Bradica and Kennedy saw their gains overturned, as incumbents Kassa and Roesch earned large leads off the heavily-Democrat mail-in ballots. As of the most recent count, all the North Penn Stronger Together candidates are on the outside looking in. The breakdown, as of 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, is as follows:
Based off the most recent county update, there are 11,897 remaining mail-in ballots to be counted, so the current totals are subject to change. However, the number of those ballots that came from the North Penn area is currently unknown, and of the mail-in ballots that have been counted from the North Penn area, Democratic candidates have had a significant advantage.
In a Facebook post late Wednesday night, the North Penn Stronger Together candidates acknowledged that the results were less than ideal, however they expressed hope that the strength of their campaign and followers would lead to what they described as “much needed change and healing in future policies and actions.”
But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to concede.
“From the beginning, this experience has been a roller coaster ride,” said North Penn Stronger Together, in response to questions from North Penn Now. “We are committed to stay in it until the entire process plays out.”
The four challenging candidates said that regardless of the outcome, they believe they have accomplished their goal.
“Our focus from the beginning was to connect with and represent members of the North Penn community who were not being heard,” the candidates said. “We are so grateful for the amazing amount of support we received from people in all parties and walks of life. Our support base stood by us and even grew larger despite the false narratives, misinformation and defamatory statements used against us. The energy and call for change on election day was undeniable.”
On the incumbent side, candidate and current school board President Tina Stoll expressed frustration regarding the delays and issues with the vote count, but added that the Democrat candidates were happy to see the vote tallies turn in their favor.
“It has been frustrating to see the delays, but we are grateful that the county has taken steps to ensure that all ballots are counted,” said Stoll. “It is important that people know that the Montgomery County Board of Elections has worked with both political parties and the Department of State to protect the integrity of this election cycle and we appreciate their efforts in doing so.”
“We’re happy to see the vote tally in our favor, however we do believe we should wait until all the ballots are counted before making any further comments,” said Stoll.
While the county is continuing to update the vote counts on its dashboard, all results remain unofficial at this time. Election officials have not provided an estimate regarding when the count may be finished, beyond stating that the final results are expected to be delayed.
In the interim, North Penn Stronger Together said they’re hoping their campaign and actions will have a positive impact on the school district moving forward.
“Whatever happens, we hope that the call for change was heard by all, and translates into future policies and actions that fuels the betterment of the North Penn community as a whole,” said the North Penn Stronger Together candidates.
See also:
North Penn School Board Candidate Debate Scheduled for Monday, Open to Public
Editorial: In Defense of Civility and Public Service
Editorial: Academic Facilities Before Sports Facilities — It’s Time to Reprioritize North Penn
