Elections (Credit: MediaNews Group)
Stoll and Fusco — both exiting North Penn School Directors — capture tax collector seats in Montgomery and Towamencin townships
Two longtime North Penn School Board directors will step off the dais where they set the taxes to take on new roles collecting them.
Democrat Tina Stoll unofficially unseated Republican incumbent Patricia A. Gallagher to become Montgomery Township’s next tax collector, while fellow Democrat Christian Fusco unofficially won Towamencin Township’s tax collector race, where 3-term incumbent Republican Robert Di Domizio Jr. was not seeking re-election, continuing a regional Democratic surge in local finance offices.
Their victories — both in traditionally Republican municipalities — underscore a political and policy realignment in the North Penn area, where the officials who have long debated, set and adjusted school tax rates will now be responsible for collecting municipal property taxes at the township level.
Tax collectors are nonpartisan in their roles, yet they are elected by municipal voters, to a position where they answer not to supervisors or councilors, but rather the governor.
Stoll ends Gallagher’s long tenure in Montgomery Township
In Montgomery Township, Stoll earned 5,159 votes (2,848 in-person; 2,311 mail-in) to Gallagher’s 4,179 (3,016 in-person; 1,163 mail-in), according to unofficial results from Montgomery County Voter Services. Her 980-vote margin marked one of the county’s clearest flips on election night
Gallagher, who had held the office for multiple terms, remained popular with in-person voters, leading narrowly at the polls, but Stoll’s strong mail-in turnout erased that edge.
Stoll, who has served as president of the North Penn School Board, campaigned on improving transparency, modernizing the township’s payment systems, and expanding online services for residents.
“This role is an extension of what I’ve always believed in — making sure public funds are managed responsibly and that taxpayers can see exactly where their money goes,” she said on the trail.
Her victory closes a decades-long chapter of Gallagher’s stewardship, which had been marked by procedural precision and familiarity among residents who valued her accessibility at the township office.
Fusco expands Democrats’ hold on Towamencin government
In Towamencin Township, Stoll’s North Penn colleague Fusco captured the tax collector’s office with 4,256 votes (2,628 in-person; 1,628 mail-in), defeating Republican Stephanie German, who earned 2,949 (2,411 in-person; 538 mail-in)
Fusco’s win capped a Democratic sweep in Towamencin, where Vanessa Gaynor and Courtney Morgan also won both open supervisor seats. The results give Democrats full control of the township’s elected offices for the first time in recent memory.
Fusco, an advocate for school funding equity and responsible budgeting during his years on the North Penn board, framed his campaign around maintaining efficient tax operations and supporting transparency. He pledged to keep the office accessible and to provide more user-friendly options for bill payment and taxpayer outreach.
His election also signaled voter trust in Democratic fiscal management following the township’s high-profile sewer-system privatization debate, which galvanized a coalition of residents around transparency and local control — the same themes that have defined Fusco’s approach in public service.
From setting rates to collecting them
Both Stoll and Fusco have spent the last several years shaping multimillion-dollar education budgets for the North Penn School District — work that directly influences local property tax bills. Their transition from setting tax rates to collecting local levies marks a rare and symbolic handoff in Montgomery County government.
Their move to township posts will likely keep them at the center of local fiscal decisions — only now from the administrative side.
Democratic strength across Montgomery County’s suburbs has continued to reshape local government. In the North Penn area, Democrats now hold most major fiscal and executive offices — from Lansdale’s mayor and council majority to Towamencin’s full board of supervisors, and now both township tax collector positions.
Both will officially vacate their school board seats by year’s end.
