Westmoreland election ties broken with marble drawings

Luck was on Andy Pinskey’s side Wednesday.

He pulled the No. 1 marble, likely securing himself another term on Scottdale Borough Council.

A tie for the seat was broken Wednesday at the Westmoreland County Courthouse after he and opponent Cherri Rogers each received 132 votes in November’s general election.

“It was just the luck of the draw,” he said.

It was the closest race Pinskey could remember since he was appointed to the post in 2004.

For Rogers, a political newcomer, it was gratifying to know that she could get that many votes. It gave her confidence to potentially seek another local elected post.

“For me, being new and having my first time running for office, I did pretty good,” she said.

Lots were cast in that race and six others in which candidates tied, deciding the results by random. The results will not be official until the county election board certifies them Monday.

Each candidate’s name was called in alphabetical order and a numbered black marble was selected from a bottle. The candidate who received the marble marked with No. 1 was declared the winner.

Pinskey, who was on the ballot as a Republican, and Rogers, who was on the ballot as a Democrat, were the only candidates present to select their own marbles.

Both said the race shows that local elections matter and more voters should cast their ballots.

Tiebreakers have been held in two of the last four elections, said Greg McCloskey, elections bureau director. Aside from the Scottdale race, the candidates who were tied in the remaining races all received one or two write-in votes.

“The write-in candidates may not even be aware that their name was written in at this point,” he said.

Winners of all races are notified by the county elections bureau.

If anyone who won is not interested in serving, they can contact their municipality or the bureau. In that situation, the position becomes vacant, McCloskey said.

The other unofficial winners are:

• Tim Previni got the No. 1 marble for a seat on Hyde Park Council. Previni was tied with Jim Pochedly and Amy Snyder. There were three seats available — Nathan A. Baker won one with 96 votes and Mary Ann Fondrk won a second with four write-in votes, according to unofficial returns.

• Susan Sterrett got the No. 1 marble for a seat on New Alexandria Council. Sterrett tied with Bob Jack. Henry Snyder received five votes to secure a seat.

• Kevin Ferree got the No. 1 marble for a seat on Sutersville Council. Ferree tied with Jason Meligari, Levi Rocco and Denise Sorrentino.

• Alex Monticue got the No. 1 marble for Cook auditor. Monticue tied with Carmel Piper.

• Kurt Limbach got the No. 1 marble for Fairfield auditor. Limbach tied with Devin O’Leary.

• Joyce Ewing got the No. 1 marble for Upper Burrell auditor. Ewing tied with Patrick Quinn.