For Butler County Sheriff-elect Mike Slupe, as well as other successful public office newcomers, Tuesday's election marked a beginning of the important preparations leading up to their swearing-in in January. But the election also might well have been a harbinger of what might lie ahead — specifically in the 2010 elections.

This week's election, while not producing a big voter turnout, nevertheless suggests that many voters don't like what they've seen in terms of how their communities have been run. If that attitude spills over into next year's elections, which will be highlighted by state and congressional contests, some incumbents might find themselves on the endangered list.

In Tuesday's balloting, for example, two incumbents were ousted from the Butler Township Board of Commissioners, as were two incumbent Evans City council members — two municipalities that have experienced more than their share of governmental friction.

Meanwhile, Saxonburg voters ousted their longtime Republican mayor — what has to be regarded as an upset. The result of that race will be pondered and analyzed in the days ahead.

With Pennsylvania's annual budget morass and scandals such as those involving former state Sen. Vincent Fumo of Philadelphia and former state Rep. Mike Veon of Beaver County — as well as the lingering disgust over the 2005 middle-of-the-night legislative pay raise vote and the way business generally is conducted in the state capital — state voters, based on some of the election results Tuesday from here and beyond, might have sent a message of unhappiness and unrest that incumbents should note.

Actually, based on all that has occurred, it would be refreshing if 2010 were to mark even greater change in the Keystone State than that produced in 2006 by the 2005 pay-raise action.

For now, though, Butler County residents should watch closely as Slupe prepares to take the reins of a county office that, over the past several years, has been the center of some troubling issues, mostly current Sheriff Dennis Rickard's alleged shoddy bookkeeping.

There never has been any reason to suspect financial wrongdoing in that office, but the county has paid many thousands of dollars for a financial consultant to reconstruct the sheriff's financial books.

In addition, the size of the deputy contingent that should be maintained now that the new county prison has been completed remains unresolved.

In regard to the manpower issue, the question surfaced in recent months over whether Rickard had maintained adequate records on how his staff was being used. Despite requests, Rickard never produced duties records to justify keeping his full complement of deputies.

Two full-time deputy positions were eliminated July 1, another two were eliminated Aug. 31, and three more layoffs are targeted for Dec. 31.

Slupe has promised to do a staffing analysis to determine how many deputies are needed to meet the needs of the courts and for other duties such as serving warrants.

He'll presumably have the benefit of working with a new set of financial books as accounts now under the control of Rickard are reconciled through collection and dispostion of money as part of the normal course of settling specific cases, obligations and incomplete transactions.

The many financial aspects of the Sheriff's Office prohibit a complete reconciling of Slupe's predecessor's accounts by the time Slupe assumes office. There is nothing unusual about that.

"We'll work within the budget," Slupe said, in reflecting on one of the most important aspects of his upcoming tenure.

From the standpoint of county residents, it also must be hoped that the office acquires a new focus on efficiency, not only in the use of personnel, but with bookkeeping also.

There must never again be an instance when neither the county Controller's Office nor the county's independent auditing firm states that the Sheriff's Office's books are not in a form that can be audited — as occurred more than once under Rickard.

On the subject of the voters' mood, time will tell whether the words of ousted Butler Township Commissioner Donna Druga ring true.

After learning of her defeat Tuesday evening, Druga, a two-term commissioner, expressed the view that "most people are just disgusted with government in general."

A similar view prevailed in Evans City, where Councilman-elect John McKinney said he looks forward to bringing a sense of cooperation to a council that has too often been marred by infighting and bitter arguments.

While only 26 percent of the county's registered voters exercised their right and responsibility to go to the polls, tiny Cherry Valley, with just 51 voters, wins the prize for the biggest turnout, with just under a 50 percent showing — 25 voters having actually cast ballots.

Too bad the voting attitude displayed by Cherry Valley in its small way wasn't in play throughout the rest of the county.

Maybe next year — if the voters are angry enough.