LAWRENCE COUNTY Write-in candidates win positions

A Slippery Rock Township supervisor lost his bid for re-election by four votes.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Voters in two Lawrence County communities decided to ignore the names on the ballots and go with write-in candidates.
County elections officials posted the unofficial results of the Nov. 6 election this week. Anyone disputing those results has until Monday to contact the county election board for a recount.
It appears that write-in candidate Lewis A. Grell won the post as Pulaski Township supervisor by 46 votes. Scott Phillips had been unopposed on the ballot for the position. Both were seeking the seat left vacant by Mark Anderson, who decided not to run for another term in office.
Grell, 69, said he didn't decided to run for office until after retiring from his post as executive director for the Association for the Advancement of International Education in July.
He credits his successful write-in campaign to a strong committee of township residents working on his behalf.
Grell, a member of the township zoning hearing board, said his father, Adam, was a Pulaski Township supervisor in the 1950s. The younger Grell grew up in Pulaski, but moved away for about 26 years when serving in various administrative positions in schools in New York state and overseas. He returned to Pulaski in 1989 to take over the executive director's job for the International Education group, which was housed at Westminster College.
Slippery Rock: Keith Hunt is the apparent winner of a write-in campaign in Slippery Rock Township.
Hunt beat incumbent supervisor Jack Armagost by four votes. The unofficial tally has Hunt with 336 votes and Armagost at 332. Hunt and Armagost could not be reached for comment.
Other write-ins: Others who waged successful write-in campaigns filled seats that had no other candidates on the ballot.
Brad McKenna won a seat on the Bessemer Council with 138 write-in votes.
The tiny borough of SNPJ had no one on the ballot. Write-in winners were Gerald Sankovich for mayor and Judy Moses and Jeff Wisneski for council.
Pat Angiolelli's write-in campaign for Union Township supervisor fell short by 101 votes. Incumbent Kevin Guinaugh will take another six-year term in office.
Elections Director Marlene Gabriel said the write-in winners must decide by Dec. 15 if they will take office.