Comitta wins close mayoral race
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PANews
Comitta wins close mayoral race
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
By DAN KRISTIE, Staff Writer
WEST CHESTER - Borough Councilwoman Carolyn Comitta appears to have won a tight contest for the Democratic mayoral primary over her opponent, former council President Bill Scott.
With all of the borough’s precincts counted, Comitta had 515 votes while Scott had 492. All returns are unofficial until verified by the county Board of Elections.
“I am honored to have received the support of the voters of West Chester,” Comitta said. “I’m grateful for the faith they have placed in me as next mayor. I will be a mayor who will listen to the voices of our diverse communities and bring people together to improve West Chester.”
No Republican is running, nor have any Republicans expressed interest in the office, which means Comitta is likely to run unopposed in November.
Comitta, who was elected to borough council in 2007, has run as a consensus builder. She has said she wants to make sure all stakeholders - including residents, the university, and local businesses - are on the same page before borough council passes new legislation.
Scott, who served two four year terms on borough council and ran unsuccessfully in 2007 for county commissioner, campaigned as a maverick who wouldn’t be afraid to take on the borough’s businesses or educational and governmental institutions if those entities threatened the interests of residents.
The borough’s Democratic voters said on Tuesday that the mayor’s race is the main reason they came to the polls.
“That race is my top priority today,” said Ian Carlton, a Democratic Ward 1 voter. He said he was supporting Scott.
Paul Eberts, a Democratic Ward One voter, said he voted for Comitta because he and his family decided her consensus-oriented leadership style would benefit the borough.
“It’s a personality thing,” Eberts said. “My parents and I read up on her and she seems like she would be a better leader for the borough.”
The mayor’s race, borough voters said, was more important to them than the West Chester Area School Board Race. In the townships surrounding the borough, most voters said they were more interested in the school board race than in their municipal races, many of which were uncontested.
Although both Scott and Comitta talked about trying to get Republicans to write in their name so they could get on the Republican ballot, it appears only Comitta followed through with this plan.
Her campaign workers were handing out flyers on Tuesday titled “Republican Mayoral Write-In Sample Ballot.” It instructed Republicans to write in her name and to vote for the four Democratic School Board candidates, three of whom are cross-filed. The flyer did not tell voters the school board candidates were Democrats.
Matt Holliday, a Republican who volunteered for Comitta’s campaign, was handing out the top half of these flyers. But he was tearing off and discarding the portion that told Republicans to vote for the Democratic School Board candidates.
Holliday, a recent West Chester University graduate, said he is a friend of Comitta’s and thinks she would make a good mayor.
Whether Comitta or Scott make it onto the Republican general election ballot will not be clear until the write-in ballots are tabulated.
While some Republican voters in the borough said they were writing in a Democrat for mayor, others said they weren’t impressed enough with the two candidates to bother.
“I usually just vote straight party, unless there’s a candidate I really like from the other party,” said Darcy Latta, a Republican Ward 1 voter. “I didn’t see any mayoral candidates I thought would be particularly qualified.”
To contact staff writer Dan Kristie, send an e-mail to dkristie@dailylocal.com.
