Turnout light for primary

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on May 17, 2023

Voter turnout is usually light during off-year elections, especially for the primary election. Yesterday was no exception. It was one of those elections where at any given time, the campaign signs in front of polling places outnumbered voters inside.

To quote one poll worker in Chadds Ford Township, turnout in the morning was “minimal.” At the Concord Township building polling place at 7:55 a.m., workers were hoping to get 10 voters by 8 a.m. And. by 9:15 a.m., only 17 people had voted at the Pennsbury Township building.

Turnout did pick up somewhat throughout the day. Chester County reported a 20.95 percent voter turnout. Delaware County is reporting a 24.5 percent turnout.

But even in an off-year primary, it’s the number of votes that count. And for some, not many votes were needed.

Timotha Trigg ran unopposed for the Chadds Ford Republican Party nomination for supervisor. And there were no Democrats running for supervisor on that party’s ballot. The same with Wendell Fenton in Pennsbury Township.

Fenton has been on Pennsbury’s Board of Supervisors since 2006. While this would be Trigg’s first time on the Chadds Ford board, she’s a current member of the Planning Commission and is a former school board director and school board president.

Chadds Ford and Pennsbury are also linked in being the two townships that comprise Region C of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, and there was a school board election, too.

Voters had the choice of voting for three of the five candidates for school board. All five were cross-filed to be on both the Republican and Democratic Party ballots.

Erin Talbert, an incumbent is running for another term. The Democratic Party endorsed Talbert along with Jody Allen and Brian Schartz. The other two candidates are Brian Lamb and Madelaine Werner who were endorsed by the Chadds Ford Republican Party.

All five candidates will be on the November ballot since the endorsed Democrats won in their primary while the endorsed Republicans won their primary.

Other races

Dan Hill, an incumbent supervisor in Birmingham Township, is in the same situation as Trigg in Chadds Ford and Fenton in Pennsbury, being unopposed in his party’s primary while there was no Democrat running for a nomination.

In Pocopson Township, incumbent Supervisor Ricki Stumpo ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary for reelection. She’ll face Andrea Gosselin, a Republican, in November.

Robert Pearson, an incumbent Republican supervisor in Newlin Township, won his party’s nomination for reelection. No Democrat ran in the primary.

In Concord Township, three incumbent council members — Larry Mutschler II, John Crossan, and Vinita Deshmukh — each a Republican, won their party’s nomination while the Democrats didn’t field any candidates for the seats.

Election results are not official until certified by voter services in each of the counties.

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.