Ferrari wins prothonotary nod
A hard-fought primary election race between two Republican candidates for county prothonotary, both with experience in the civil court field, ended with Kelly Ferrari defeating Paula Painter by more than 2,500 votes, according to unofficial election results on Tuesday night.
Ferrari will appear as the Republican candidate for prothonotary in the general election in November. Daniel Smith was the lone contender for prothonotary on the Democratic ticket and will run against Ferrari in November.
Ferrari earned a total of 9,424 votes to Painter's 6,861.
Ferrari, a self-employed court reporter who has contracted with the county civil courts for 30 years, said she is humbled and honored that the voters of Butler County selected her as the first new prothonotary in 35 years.
“It was a lot of hard work,” Ferrari said after the unofficial results were tabulated. “I went from Harrisville to Buffalo Township.”
She is aware that whoever wins in November will have big shoes to fill in replacing the retiring Glenna Walters, who has served in the office since 1984.
“I think she has run a great office,” Ferrari said. “I have a lot of respect for Glenna and her commitment to the county.”Ferrari decided to run for prothonotary when she became aware of Walters' decision to retire. She said she is following in the public-service footsteps of her father, who served as fire chief and then as a councilman in Butler.“I really appreciate everyone putting their confidence and trust in me for the office of prothonotary,” Ferrari said. “It was great meeting the people in this county.”Should she win in November, she plans to shadow Walters and other prothonotaries in nearby counties to learn the job.“It would be my honor to be the county's prothonotary,” she said.In the five precincts in Butler Township, Ferrari received 850 votes to Painter's 548.In Ferrari's home of Center Township, totals from the three precincts show Ferrari earned 821 votes to Painter's 325.In Clearfield Township, Painter's home, the native candidate earned 167 votes to Ferrari's 21.Painter, who is a deputy in the prothonotary's office, was not available for comment on Tuesday night.The prothonotary's office, which is unique to Commonwealth states, is the record keeper for the civil side of county court.
