BELLEFONTE — It appears Bernie Cantorna has also secured the Republican write-in vote in the race for Centre County district attorney, which would leave him as the sole DA candidate on the ballot in November’s general election.
Joyce McKinley, director of the elections office, confirmed May 24 that Cantorna appears to have taken the majority of Republican write-in votes, cutting off the only avenue current District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller had to securing a spot on the ballot to challenge Cantorna in the fall. McKinley said initial counts of 2,700 write-in votes for Cantorna and 600 for Parks Miller were “probably fairly close.”
McKinley said the results of the municipal elections probably will not be certified until next week, with write-in counts to finish up late this week.
“I’m very optimistic the write-ins are going to go our way,” Cantorna told Centre County Gazette on May 24. “I’m still not counting my chickens before they hatch, and the count isn’t official, yet, but we are cautiously optimistic.”
Cantorna said that although several local news sources have printed estimated write-in vote count numbers, he has not heard any rumors about the way the count was going.
He said he is thankful for the nonpartisan support regardless of which way the write-in votes may fall.
“It shows that this is more than just political,” said Cantorna. “It shows people want change, and that means I have a lot of work to do.”
Parks Miller did not return calls for comment before press time; however, on the May 24 Tor Michaels radio show on WBLF and WPHB, she said she was still hopeful she would win the Republican write-in nomination.
Cantorna secured the Democratic nomination in the May 16 municipal primary, with 69.42 percent of the vote to Parks Miller’s 30.41 percent. There were no Republicans on the ballot. He won all but four of the county’s 91 precincts, losing three in Rush Township and one in Curtin Township.
A trial attorney for 27 years who started his career as a public defender, Cantorna is partner in the the Centre County firm Bryant & Cantorna.
Cantorna is senior staff member at the Trial Lawyer’s College, for which he organizes and teaches graduate-level law courses to other attorneys. He previously was a clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School — where he received his law degree — for five years and was a Wisconsin public defender for three years.
He also is head coach of the State College Area High School girls’ rugby team and an assistant coach for the Penn State women’s rugby team.
Cantorna had the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, among others.
Parks Miller, who was seeking a third term, has successfully prosecuted high-profile cases during her tenure, but controversy has followed her in recent years. Some of that is intertwined with the contentious history between her and Cantorna, an animosity that was evident at times throughout the campaign.
