Statewide revamping of the legislative districts didn’t hurt Stephen Barrar’s re-election bid. The nine-term Republican won another two years in office by defeating political newcomer Whitney Hoffman.
Early indications show Barrar winning by a 2-1 margin, according to the representative, but final numbers weren’t immediately available.
***UDATE*** Morning after numbers showed Barrar with 13,058 votes and Hoffman with 7,850. The race was much closest in the four Chester County municipalities in the 160th legislative District. Votes in Chester County were 3,564 for Barrar and 3,240 for Hoffman.***End Update***
Barrar said early in the day that he was optimistic about winning re-election, but accepted his margin of victory would not be as great as it has been in the past.
He acknowledged that Hoffman was the strongest opponent he’s had in years and said, “I probably won’t win by my usual 68 percent.”
After the polls closed he said, “I think she was a more challenging opponent than I’ve had in the past, but I don’t think she did a good job of putting her ideas out about how she would better represent the people of this legislative district.”
He said the election was more difficult than the previous because, with the redistricting, he lost four municipalities where he was well known and picked up three others where he was a new face.
“I think my win in the old part of my district reflects the fact that people know that I’m an extremely dedicated elected official who takes their concerns to Harrisburg and I do my best to resolve their issues. I think they trust me more than anyone else.”
In a brief phone interview, Hoffman said she knew it would be an uphill battle against an 18-year incumbent, but added, “It was a race well run and there was a good voter turnout.”
More locally, Concord Township voters chose to create a study commission that would explore options for possibly changing the township’s government structure. That vote, according to the Delaware County Web site, were3,459 for and 1,815 against.
According to township Supervisor Kevin O’Donoghue, "The yes vote for the Government Study Commission by Concord voters means that these seven elected commissioners will examine and evaluate alternate forms of government in Concord Township and generate a written report-setting forth their findings. If there should be a major change in the form of government it would go back to the voters for the people to decide yes or no on their recommendation. This is a true representative process."
Both the Republican and Democratic parties endorsed the creation of the commission and of the seven commission members elected, five were endorsed by both parties. They are Andrew Briner, Jim Gray, Robert W. Tribit, Rosemary Fiumara and Diane Bohr.
The other two, endorsed by the Republican Party, are Matthew Houtman and Joshua Twersky.
The commission will convene in January and have 18 months to complete the study and make recommendations. If the recommendation would be to change the form of government, a question would be placed on the 2016 ballot.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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