Holland wins GOP nomination
In the race for the Republican nominee for Butler County controller, youth was not an insurmountable obstacle.
Ben Holland, 26, of Connoquenessing Township on Tuesday defeated Karen Diehl, 57, of Franklin Township with 5,944 votes, or 56 percent, to 4,625 votes, or 44 percent, according to unofficial results from the county elections bureau,
Although there were no Democratic candidates on the ballot, there were 398 Democratic write-in votes. If Diehl or another individual received at least 250 of those write-ins, that person will be the Democratic nominee.
Shari Brewer, county elections bureau director, said the process to identify the names on the write-ins will start Friday. She expects the results to be determined next week.
Absentee ballots were counted in the unofficial results.
Holland said he would be prepared if there would be a Democratic nominee for the November election.
“My campaign would be ready to go forward in the general election with the same message,” he said.
Holland said if there is no Democratic opponent, he would begin the acclimation process by asking to meet with Controller Jack McMillin and then his staff.
McMillin did not seek re-election. He is retiring at the end of the year.
Holland said his victory was due to him being recognized as an independent candidate.
“It was referendum by the voters that they wanted a change in county government,” he said.
Diehl said Tuesday that she did not regret running a positive campaign.“We ran a race we can be proud of,” she said.Holland praised his opponent, saying either candidate would be an effective controller.“I have all the accolades in the world for Karen,” he said.In larger municipalities, Holland won Butler Township with 716 votes to 515 votes and Cranberry Township with 722 votes to 400 votes.Diehl narrowly won Butler with 233 votes to 225 votes.During the campaign, Diehl, a certified public accountant, touted her 23 years' experience. Holland maintained he was qualified for the job.In a previous interview, he said his job title at the Pittsburgh area office of the McKesson Corp. was changing from accounting manager to assistant controller.Holland did extensive door-to-door campaigning and sent mailings to specific voters.“We personalized the campaign,” he said.Through May 6, Holland outspent Diehl. He expended $5,648 while she spent $3,224.
