WILKES-BARRE — Three incumbent city council members who were seeking reelection will advance to the general election in November, according to Tuesday’s unofficial election results.
With all 180 precincts reporting as of press time, incumbent Tony Brooks, 58, secured his party’s nomination to represent District B with 182 votes and no Republican opposition. Democratic challenger Mark Shaffer, 29, ended the night with 209 votes, but with 278 write-in votes yet to be counted on the Democratic side, Shaffer is not assured a win.
While the number of combined Republican votes and Democratic write-in votes could favor Brooks, that will not be confirmed until the write in votes are tallied, which could take days.
Shaffer remained optimistic.
“It’s pretty hard to say anything for sure at this point,” he said Tuesday night.
Other seats
• Chairman Mike Belusko, 62, of District A, recieved 582 votes with no Democratic opposition. Because there was no Republican on the ballot, that party’s nomination will be based on write-in votes.
• Bill Barrett, 73, of District D, defeated Democratic challenger Michele Trimingham, 64, with 413 votes. He will face off against Linda J. Urban, 70, who recieved with Republican nomination with 149 votes.
• In District C, currently represented by councilperson Beth McBride, who decided not to run for reelection, Stan Mirin, 52, beat out fellow Democrat Brian G. Ferry, with 230 votes. The Republican nominee will be decided by write-in votes.
• Jessica McClay carried the Democratic nomination for District E with 282 votes. The district currently is represented by councilperson John Marconi, who did not seek reelection. The Republican nomination will be chosen from the write-in votes.
Controller
Tony Thomas secured the Democratic nomination for Wilkes-Barre City Controller with 1,679 votes, beating out incumbent Darren Snyder, who had 727 votes. There were 11 write-in votes on the Democratic side and 162 on the Republican side.