Site last updated: Saturday, August 9, 2025

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Votes cast in local races

The following results for Tuesday's general election are complete, but unofficial.

One incumbent was unseated by a challenger in the Butler Township commissioners race, according to unofficial election returns released Tuesday night.Three men vied for two seats up for grabs on the five-person board.Newcomer Ed Natali earned 2,602 votes, or 36.5% of the total votes. Incumbent Sam Zurzolo won 2,451 votes, or 34.4%.But incumbent Fred Vero, who has served one term as a township commissioner, earned the least number of votes at 2,038, or 28.6%.Natali, like all county candidates, learned of the election results around midnight.“I feel great,” Natali said. “I'm exited and looking forward to serving the constituents.”The new commissioner went on to praise Vero.“My best wishes to Fred,” Natali said. “He served with integrity and loves the community.”Vero received the highest number of write-in votes, at 756, while the top vote-getter, Natali, saw the fewest write-in voters, at 255.“As we've seen in the last few elections with mail-ins, Democratic voters typically have the highest propensity for mail-in ballots, so it's not surprising,” Natali, a Republican said. “The Republicans tend to vote in person.”He said he appreciates the support of the voters of Butler Township.“I thank them for their confidence in me,” Natali said. “I promise to serve them with honor, integrity and tenacity, and I look forward to doing that over the next four years.”

Incumbents Mike Fleming, Christine Clutter, Rob Bost and Julie Schultheis won the four open seats for council.Five candidates were running for the seats up for reelection. Challenger Anastacia Nelson, who was running for the first time, did not gain a seat.Mike Fleming, a Republican, came in first with 26.17% of the vote, Republican Christine Clutter had 22.51% of the vote, Julie Schultheis, who ran on both the Democratic and Republican lines, took 20.31% of the vote and Rob Bost, who ran on both lines, received 19.76% of the vote. Anastacia Nelson, a Democrat, received 10.34% of the vote.A total of 1,093 votes were cast for borough council.“I'm excited to look forward to another term,” Bost said. “For a non-presidential, non-governor election year, I thought it was a pretty good turnout.”Nelson said that even though she did not win, she enjoyed the experience of running for office.“I'm looking forward to running again, and I can use the experience in the future.” said Nelson. “I got to learn a lot these last couple of weeks.”

Supervisors Dick Hadley and Mike Manipole will both serve an additional term on the Cranberry Township board of supervisors, according to unofficial vote totals Tuesday night, eking out competition from two Democratic candidates.Manipole was the top vote-getter in the election, receiving 34.4% of the vote, while Hadley was just behind, with 31.5%. Karen Schroeder received 17.5% of the vote, and Nick Kotik won just 16.3%.Manipole said he is glad to have been reelected, seeing an opportunity to finish some initiatives and projects started or significantly advanced under his tenure.“It's really nice to see that the process worked; it took its route,” he said. “We have a lot of unfinished business to work on when it comes to transportation and managing our growth, and I'm looking forward to another term to work on that. It's very exciting. That's the best thing about being in Cranberry: Exciting things are happening.”Prior to the election, Kotik brought up his perceived issues of how township supervisors have managed Cranberry's growth, saying he ran not because he expected to win, but because he wanted to let the incumbents know there were many voices in Cranberry, not all of which agree with their current methods.At the polls, Manipole said, were people who were not simply voting because they wanted the old guard or new blood for no reason, but rather informed voters who were willing to have conversations with him regarding the township.“I think it was really nice that a lot of people were still open-minded and still interested in talking, rather than being closed-minded,” he said.

Greg Kessler staved off two separate bids by John Meyer in his race for Lancaster Township supervisor, receiving nearly two-thirds of the vote share, according to unnoficial Tuesday night vote totals.Kessler, who defeated Meyer in the Republican primary in May, secured his seat Tuesday by a larger margin than that by which he'd won in May, receiving 61.4% of the 947 votes.Meyer, who ran for the seat on the Democratic ticket after receiving sufficient write-in votes from Democrats in May to place him back on the ballot, received just 38.5%, less than the 39.1% he received in May.When he takes his seat in January, Kessler will replace incumbent Kris Kniess, who opted not to run for reelection.Meyer had maintained a staunch anti-development view, and expressed his disdain for the manner in which Lancaster was managed by its current supervisors. Kessler did not respond to repeated requests for comment prior to the election.Kessler serves on the township's zoning hearing board.

Jeff Smouse will join the reelected Kimberly Regan-Koch and Brian Trimble on Seven Fields Borough Council after voters mandated him to council, according to unofficial results.Smouse, who edged out councilman Kevin Caridad in the May primary election, received 22.2% of the vote, and his Republican compatriots Regan-Koch and Trimble received 22.9% and 24.1%, respectively.Their Democratic challengers, Kim Grasso and Angela Nickum, received 15.7% and 13% of the vote, respectively.Each candidate, regardless of party, identified the positives of Seven Fields, but acknowledged there is work to be done to either improve the borough or ensure its residents can maintain their quality of life.Both Trimble and Regan-Koch have served one previous term, with the latter being elected to the position of council president halfway through her first term. Smouse will supplant Caridad, whom he similarly unseated in the Republican primary.

Incumbent Donald Marshall, a Republican, defeated Democratic challenger David McMaster for a seat on the Middlesex Township board of supervisors.Marshall received 63.14% of the vote with 978 votes, while McMaster received 36.60% with 567 votes.A total of 1,549 votes were cast for supervisor. Marshall and McMaster are Republicans, and McMaster was running on the Democratic ticket.This will be Marshall's third term after taking office two six-year terms ago,Marshall did not respond to calls by press time.At the moment, the board of Supervisors is balancing increasing development in Middlesex Township with the conservation of the township's natural resources.McMaster, who had previously served a term as supervisor in 2002, ran because of his concerns about transparency of leadership and development expansion in the area.“I thought that the township had a real good turnout, and want to thank all the residents who came out and voted, no matter how the election turns out,” McMaster said. “I was there from the very beginning from 7 in the morning to 8 at night, and I was pleased with the turnout.”

In a contest between two challengers for a Center Township supervisor's position, Republican candidate Don Pringle defeated Democrat Phil C. Heasley, according to unofficial results.Pringle received 1,142 votes, and Heasley received 921 votes, according to the unofficial results.Those totals include 1,039 election day votes and 103 absentee and mail-in votes for Pringle, and 553 election day votes and 368 absentee and mail-in votes for Heasley.Pringle won a six-year term to replace Supervisor Ron Flatt, who did not seek re-election.Pringle ran twice before for a supervisor's seat and hoping his third run was going to be successful.“Third time was a charm,” Pringle said after the results were posted online. The results are not official until they are certified by the county election bureau. “I want to thank God, my wife and the rest of Center Township for believing in me. Now it's time to get my lunch box, as my dad would say, and go to work.”The owner of a timber and sawmill business, a husband and father of two grown children, Pringle said he wants to restore faith in government by listening to residents.He said he has been attending township supervisors meetings for many years and has noticed that some residents leave the meetings frustrated because the supervisors don't seem to listen to them.Heasley, who ran last year against state Rep. Tim Bonner to represent the 8th District in the House of Representatives, said he is a lifelong township resident who wants change.He said residential development is growing throughout the township, and the supervisors should take steps to make sure residents want to stay.The township adopted a comprehensive plan in 2011, but hasn't carried out any of its recommendations, he said.One of those recommendations, he said, is to create parks without raising taxes.

Republican Nathan Wulff defeated Democrat Keith Kaib , according to unnoficial results, Wulff received 73.1% of the vote, while Kaib received 26.75%.Wulff, the former Unionville Volunteer Fire Company chief and Franklin resident of three years, said he believed his campaign went well, and that he and Kaib ran a friendly race.“I think voters showed up overwhelmingly, I'm super grateful,” Wulff said. “I look forward to working for everyone in the township and keeping it a place people want to live.”Kaib wished Wulff all the best as he serves the township and thanked every community member who came out to vote.“I'd like to thank all who supported me and helped me along the way,” he said. “I look forward to continue serving the township on the planning commission.”

Republican Dalton Geibel had a one vote lead over Democratic candidate Michael Haid in the race for Donegal Township's supervisor.Geibel received 230 votes, while Haid received 229.According to a former report, Geibel intends to use his position as supervisor to keep the township on the right track.Provisional ballots are yet to be counted and could affect these results.

In Jefferson Township, Lois Rankin was elected supervisor in the municipal election Tuesday.

More in Local News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS