Mayoral, council races highlight borough contests
By TOM KNAPP and MICHAEL YODER
Updated May 20, 2009 03:08

C. Chuck Mummert, an Elizabethtown Borough councilman for the past four years, handily snatched the vacant mayor's seat away from political newcomer Donald Keller in one of six Republican face-offs for mayoral slots in Lancaster County.

Mummert, a salesman for a home-repair business for elderly and low-income people, will run unopposed in the November election after winning Tuesday's primary vote against Keller, who owns a construction business and is a maintenance worker at Peach Alley Court.

Mummert hopes to succeed retiring mayor Bob Brain.

The unofficial results in the Elizabethtown mayoral race were:

C. Chuck Mummert — 460
Donald Keller — 121

Henry D. Miller is poised to take over for Bruce Ryder, who has been mayor of Strasburg Borough for the past 15 years.

Miller, a small commercial job printer who publishes the Strasburg Weekly News, also is treasurer of Strasburg Rail Road. He had served as mayor before Ryder took office.

Miller bested Patty Hunt, a retired Sight & Sound actress who also has worked for the Council of Churches, and is unopposed in the fall election.

The unofficial results in the Strasburg mayoral race were:

Henry D. Miller — 219
Patty Hunt — 96

New Holland Borough's incumbent mayor, Wilbur G. Horning, easily held onto his seat against a challenge by Jeff Singleton.

Singleton, who owns Affordable Landscaping Co., was unable to gain an edge over Horning, who works at Susquehanna Bank's Blue Ball branch and has been mayor of New Holland for the past seven years.

The unofficial results in the New Holland mayoral race were:

Wilbur G. Horning — 310
Jeff Singleton — 87

Joy Kemper snagged the party's nomination in Quarryville Borough, where she and councilman Durwin W. Parks contended for a seat being vacated by outgoing Mayor Jerry McCarrell.

Kemper, a former councilwoman, is a customer service restrongsentative for PPL. Parks works in sales and consulting for a manufacturing company.

The unofficial results in the Quarryville mayoral race were:

Joy Kemper — 127
Durwin W. Parks — 66

In Mountville Borough, Philip S. Kresge is gearing up for a November mayoral contest against Democratic incumbent Connie Guy.

Councilman Kresge, a teacher and musician, bested Sean T. Wissler, a road construction foreman in the contest to restrongsent the GOP. The unofficial results in the Mountville mayoral race were:

Philip S. Kresge — 88
Sean T. Wissler — 38

In Lititz Borough, Republican candidate Greg Nies managed to pull in a share of votes despite dropping out of the race earlier this month for personal reasons.

That left his opponent, Ronald G. Oettel Jr., to claim nearly 90 percent of the vote. He will run unopposed in November for the post being vacated by Russell Pettyjohn, who has been mayor of Lititz for 16 years.

The unofficial results in the Lititz mayoral race were:

Ronald G. Oettel Jr. — 444
Greg Nies — 53

Republican candidates also competed in council races in three county boroughs Tuesday.

In the Akron Borough Council race, three incumbent council members — Terry Reber, Perry Lorah and Thomas Murray — won Republican nominations for the general election in the fall.

The unofficial borough council results were:

Terry W. Reber — 147
Perry K. Lorah — 146
Justin Gehman — 128
Thomas J. Murray — 119
Joanne Gestewitz — 108

Reber, who serves as the finance committee chairperson and is administrator for the East Cocalico Township Authority, said he had not seen the results of the election before going to bed at 11 p.m.

Reber said he sees the main goal of his job on council as making sure the borough's money is spent wisely and to "get the most bang for our buck."

Despite the economic downturn, Reber said the borough has not been severely affected because of the professional staff running the office, giving them the ability to keep taxes low.

"I'm pleased that the citizens of Akron have that much confidence in me," Reber said.

The Strasburg Borough Council race featured five candidates, including two incumbents, competing for three Republican nominations.

Incumbent Cindy Baker, owner of Merenda Zug Expresso Bar in Strasburg, garnered the most votes.

Randy Hock, owner of Budget Blinds, a custom window treatment franchise in Lancaster, and Michael A. Chiodo, a teacher in the Lampeter-Strasburg School District, also won.

The unofficial borough council results were:

Cindy Baker — 202
Randy Hock — 181
Michael A. Chiodo — 162
Penny D'Alessandro — 157
Richard Shindle — 122

Incumbent Penny D'Alessandro, a retired elementary school teacher, fell five votes short of finding her name on the ballot in the fall.

The Mount Joy Borough Council's East Ward race consisted of two incumbents vying for one Republican nomination.

Christopher Metzler, a counselor at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, emerged as the winner by three votes out of only 69 total cast, beating Robert Golicher, a retired businessman.

The unofficial borough council East Ward results were:

Robert Golicher — 36
Christopher Metzler — 33

Republicans also competed in constable races in two county boroughs Tuesday.

In the Manheim Borough constable 1st Ward race, the incumbent and current mayor was defeated in his bid for the Republican nomination.

The unofficial results were:

Christopher M. Swartz — 113
Randall S. Kreiser — 80

Swartz was able to defeat Kreiser, who has served as a constable in Manheim for nearly two decades. Kreiser had also been serving as the mayor of Manheim after replacing Tom Fee in 2007.

The Denver Borough constable race was a lopsided victory for the incumbent.

Adam Webber, who currently serves as the borough's constable, easily beat John Manley by a 6-to-1 margin for the Republican nomination.

The unofficial results were:

Adam Webber — 87
John Manley — 14

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com

E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com

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