Greene County hires new elections officials
As Greene County begins preparing for next year’s presidential elections, it has new leadership in place in its elections office.
At its meeting Thursday, the Greene County Board of Commissioners approved Josephine Weingardt as acting elections director and Dalton Zupper as acting elections manager.
The board also approved a contract extension with Jessica Goughnour, a longtime elections worker in Westmoreland County who was brought on for clerical duties and to provide guidance ahead of last year’s November general election. Her contract now runs through the 2026 elections.
The board received between six to eight applications for the election positions, said Commissioner Jared Edgreen. Aside from Weingardt, who joined the office as elections manager last year, none of the applicants had elections experience, Edgreen said.
Former elections director Kierra Cannon, who had taken on the position last year, stepped down from the position after the November election. By keeping Goughnour, the hope is that she would provide mentorship for the newer staffers, Edgreen said.
For elections director, Weingardt was “the obvious choice,” Edgreen said.
“She had about six months in the position, so a little bit of background information on how it works,” he said. “She’d been through an election, so she was a good one to have as the acting director for now.”
Zupper, a Greene County native, had been hired by the county last March as a docket clerk in the county’s Domestic Relations Office.
“He’s been through college, he’s going through some more schooling now,” Edgreen said. “He wants to stay within the county. Very bright individual. So he kind of stood out among the rest.”
Weingardt will make $53,838.22 annually in the role, retroactive to Dec. 22. Zupper’s annual salary, retroactive to Jan. 6, will be $34,114.62.