Linda Combs unseated incumbent Paul White by 50 votes in the Democratic primary election for Supervisor of Van Buren Township, according to unofficial returns released 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7.
Combs, the former director of the VBT Senior Center, earned 1,109 votes and White tallied 1,059. Larry Fix got 450 votes for supervisor and Tim Szetela, 429.
Clerk Leon Wright earned 1,679 votes for re-election, besting challenger Karin LaMothe, who earned 1,390 votes.
Treasurer Sharry Budd got the most votes of any candidate in the VBT election, coming in with 1,776, easily beating challengers John Herman, with 808, and Harry R. Roesch, with 387.
Incumbent Trustees Phillip Hart and Jeff Jahr got the most votes in the trustee race. Hart earned 1,194 and Jahr earned 1,082.
Also successful for trustee seats were Brenda McClanahan with 943 and (Regina) Reggie Miller with 928.
Unsuccessful candidates for trustee were: Dan Wright, 909; incumbent Denise Partridge, 903; Scott Brooks, 874; Angela Nettro, 857; incumbent Albert Ostrowski, 806; Diane Madigan, 787; Patricia Johnson, 649; and Allen Joseph Babosh, 238.
The Democratic finalists in VBT will face two Republicans in the November General Election, but the Democrats are expected to prevail. Seventy-five percent of the voters cast Democratic ballots on Tuesday.
Write-in Republican candidate for supervisor Julianne Chard earned 17 votes in the preliminary count on Tuesday and trustee candidate Ann Frances Fioritto received 452 votes. Both earned places on the November ballot.
There are 21,682 registered voters in VBT and 4,382 cast ballots, a 20.21% turnout.
Sumpter Township
In Sumpter Township, The Vawters Team, plus one, easily won reelection.
There are 7,371 registered voters in Sumpter and 1,422 cast ballots on Tuesday, a 19.29% turnout.
All the candidates for the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees are Democrats, so those elected in the primary are certain to skate into office in the November General Election.
For Supervisor, incumbent Johnny Vawters earned 819 votes and his challenger Vincent Warren earned 158.
Clarence Hoffman was unopposed for reelection as clerk and he earned 840 votes.
Treasurer John Morgan was reelected with 637. His challenger Andrea Chamberlain earned 306 votes.
Trustee winners were incumbents Peggy Morgan, 639; Alan Bates, 629; and Bill Hamm, 596; and team newcomer Don Swinson, 570.
Unsuccessful trustee candidates were Jim Clark, 373, and Martin Kalasz, 336.
Sumpter resident Jim Pedersen ran for State Representative in the 17th District and Sumpter voters gave him 545 votes, and 155 for Brian David Hensley and 110 for Bill LaVoy.