Republicans retain majority on Washington County board of commissioners
The partisan makeup of the Washington County Board of Commissioners will remain unchanged following the election Tuesday of incumbents Nick Sherman and Larry Maggi, and newcomer Electra Janis.
Since Sherman’s election in 2019, the board has had a 2-1 Republican majority, reflecting the county’s gradual drift from being a Democratic stronghold to a GOP bastion. Janis is taking the spot on the board long held by Diana Irey Vaughan, the Republican who announced earlier this year she would not be seeking an eighth term on the board.
In a social media posting, Janis said, “As we move forward, we promise to listen, learn and lead with integrity. Your voices – the people of Washington County – will guide our decisions every step of the way.”
The fourth candidate, Democrat Cindy Fisher, a Cecil Township supervisor, ran on a ticket with Maggi, and, of almost 100,000 votes cast in the race, ended up getting a little more than 1,000 fewer votes than Janis. Sherman was the top vote-getter, with 27,731 votes, 27.8% of the total. Maggi followed, with 25,913 votes, or 26%. Janis had 23,313 votes, or 23.4%, and Fisher received 22,253 votes, or 22.3%.
Voters could cast ballots for not more than two of the candidates.
Turnout in the off-year election was 39% of the county’s eligible voters. All told, there were about 55,000 ballots cast. The county has about 142,000 registered voters.
“I knew it was going to be a close election,” said Maggi, who was elected to his fifth term on the board. “I knew it was going to be hotly contested. Both sides ran a good campaign.”
Fisher said she was “obviously disappointed by the results,” but that she wished Maggi, Sherman and Janis the best and added that “I hope that they have the best interests of the county at heart.”
A 10-year veteran of Cecil’s board of supervisors, Fisher’s current term ends in 2025. She said she was unsure if she would run for commissioner again in 2027, preferring to let the results of Tuesday’s election sink in.
The county’s shift into the Republican column was also reflected in races down the ballot, with District Attorney Jason Walsh winning a term in his own right by comfortably defeating Democratic challenger Christina DeMarco-Breeden. Walsh became district attorney in 2021 following the death of Gene Vittone, who had been the county’s district attorney for a decade.
The county’s Republican row officers also romped to reelection. Despite terms marked by controversies, prothonotary Laura Hough, and James Roman, the register of wills and clerk of orphans court, both outpaced their Democratic opponents by substantial margins, as did Tom Flickinger, the incumbent treasurer.
Republican Ray Phillips will become the county’s next clerk of courts after besting Democrat Bobby Dellorso Tuesday. Phillips defeated incumbent Brenda Davis in the May primary election.
Longtime county coroner Timothy Warco won another term by taking 98% of the vote, with 2% going to write-in candidates.
Mike Lucas and Valarie Costanzo, both judges on the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, will each be serving an additional 10 years on the bench after winning a retention vote by comfortable margins.