By Kevin Zwick
Staff Reporter
Capitolwire
CAPITOL WIRE: –Vic Stabile, a Cumberland County lawyer and former Republican County Committee chairman, was elected Tuesday to an open seat on the Superior Court.
Stabile defeated Democrat Jim McVay Jr., an Allegheny County Court judge, 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent, with 94.6 percent reporting, according to unofficial state results. Stabile lost a bid for a seat on the same court in 2011 to Judge David Wecht.
Stabile stirred up some controversy in the waning days of the race with a TV ad accusing McVay of nepotism. The ad drew a rebuke from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which said the ad violated a pledge signed by Stabile to not run ads that could be misleading.
“It appears the negative campaign ad our opponent ran had a serious impact where he ran it … Negative campaigning tends to work,” McVay spokesman Marty Marks said Tuesday evening, acknowledging his candidate’s defeat. Stabile couldn’t be reached for comment.
The race appeared neck-and-neck for sometime Tuesday evening.
Also, Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille, a Republican, and Justice Max Baer, a Democrat, easily fended off an opposition campaign from Tea Party groups to win retention. Superior Court judges Jack Panella, a Democrat, and Susan Peikes Gantman, a Republican, also were retained by wide margins.
Despite most of the political chatter in Pennsylvania being focused on next year’s gubernatorial election, Tuesday’s vote held no clues as to how what’s expected to be one of the most closely-watched governor’s races will play out. Instead, voters hit the polls to lend their voice to who should run their local governments.
This year’s general election fit the description of “off-year election,” a cringe-inducing term among politicos, but one in which there is typically low turnout with a lack of congressional, legislative, gubernatorial or presidential elections. As of last year, there were 8.5 million registered voters in Pennsylvania and about 1.6 million voted in the Superior Court race Tuesday, according to the unofficial tally.
“That’s the one that makes you go, ‘who the hell’s running for that?’” a campaign worker at Susquehanna Township’s 8th Ward polling place said about the Superior Court race.
However, voters and campaign volunteers at some precincts in Harrisburg and its neighboring suburb said local races, not the top of the ticket judicial race or retention vote, drew them to the polls. Throughout the day, turnout was slow, but steady, poll workers said.
“People end up screwing themselves” when they don’t vote, said Juliano Calderone, a 25-year-old Republican working outside a downtown Harrisburg poll for Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Papenfuse. “Ignorance isn’t a valid argument.”
In Harrisburg’s mayoral contest, Eric Papenfuse defeated Dan Miller, the Democratic Harrisburg City Controller who won the Republican nomination in May. Voters rejected the current mayor Linda Thompson in May.
“These local races have the most impact on people, but seem to get the least amount of attention,” said Charlie DeBrunner, a Democrat running unopposed for Harrisburg City Controller, who lamented the slow turnout outside a midtown Harrisburg poll.
In neighboring Susquehanna Township, a heated school board race, as controversy over a superintendent’s contract and other issues simmer, led voters to the polls. Campaign workers there also pointed to the Dauphin County court judge race and a ward commissioner race as a draw for voters, but said the Supreme Court retention and Superior Court race did little to drive voters to the polls.
The Superior Court handles criminal and non-government appeals from the county court level. The state Supreme Court is the highest level state court in Pennsylvania.
Some other larger Pennsylvania cities held mayoral elections Tuesday.
Democratic City Councilman Bill Peduto sailed to victory over Republican challenger Josh Wander in the Pittsburgh mayoral race. And in Allentown, Mayor Ed Pawlowski, also a Democratic candidate for governor, was re-elected to his third term, according to unofficial results.
In Scranton, Democratic City Tax Collector Bill Courtright will take over the reigns of the city struggling to control costs after a dozen years of ongoing battles between Mayor Chris Doherty’s administration and public safety unions. Courtright defeated Republican attorney Jim Mulligan.
