The write-in votes have been totaled and three Democrats, two of whom who won primaries, will be listed on the Republican ticket.
Bernie Cantorna won the Republican nomination for Centre County district attorney based on write-ins, while Dan Murphy, who will appear as a Democratic candidate for State College Borough Council in the general election, also won a Republican write-in nomination.
Michael Black failed to win the Democratic nod for State College mayor in the primary; however, he secured enough write-in votes to secure the GOP’s candidate spot on the November ballot.
Cantorna, a local attorney, defeated incumbent District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller for the Democratic nomination during the primary election, taking 69.42 percent of the vote to Miller’s 30.41 percent. He also took about 3,600, or 80 percent, of the Republican write-in votes.
Cantorna successfully petitioned to have variations of his name counted in his write-in total. He publicly accepted the nomination June 1. The Court of Common Pleas ruled that 606 misspellings of Cantorna’s name for write-in votes could be added to the 3,027 write-in votes already counted for Cantorna.
In a recent interview with the Centre County Gazette, Cantorna said he is looking for a positive transition into the district attorney’s office.
In reflecting on his campaign platform, he said he is interested in pursuing a philosophy of restorative justice once he reaches office. He said it was too early to comment on any possible staffing changes, and that he was still thinking about November’s election.
Cantorna said he will be winding down his private practice in the coming months and finishing up active cases. He said he was humbled by the bipartisan support he received.
Black secured the Republican nomination for mayor of State College by tallying the most write-in votes during the primary municipal election May 16.
Black, a Democrat, came in second for his party’s nomination with 779 votes compared to Don Hahn’s 949 votes.
Black secured the Republican nomination with 115 write-in votes.
Don M. Hahn, which is how Hahn’s name appeared on the ballot, received 17 Republican write-in votes, though combined variations of his name received a total of 73 write-ins.
Murphy secured the Republican nomination for State College Borough Council through write-in votes with 41, in addition to receiving a spot as a Democrat for the November election. Murphy will be one of three Democrats on the ballot, alongside Evan Myers and Theresa Lafer.
On the Republican side of the ballot, Murphy will be with Lynn Herman and Richard Fitzgerald, the only two Republicans who ran for the three open seats.
Joyce McKinley, director of the county office of elections, said Murphy, Black and Cantorna have all accepted the nominations and filed the appropriate paperwork. Barring any challenges in court, and with approval from the state on the county’s nominations, she said sample ballots would likely be available in early or mid-October.
