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Progressive Candidates Win Democratic Primary for State College Borough Council

Updated at 9:30 p.m. on May 20 with new vote totals.

Three progressive, first-time candidates are the apparent winners of the Democratic nominations for State College Borough Council, making them the front-runners for the three seats up for election in November.

Gopal Balachandran (1,690 votes), Divine Lipscomb (1,456) and Richard Biever (1,209) were the top vote-getters among the field of six candidates in Tuesday’s primary election, according to unofficial totals as of Thursday night.

The trio, who ran together on the Central PA United slate, outpaced current Councilwoman Katherine Yeaple (1,145), current Mayor Ronald Filippelli (954) and former Councilwoman Catherine Dauler (862).

Election results are unofficial until certified by the Board of Elections. The deadline to certify is June 7. Unofficial results will be submitted to the Department of State on Tuesday.

Jacob Werner, a research professor and attending veterinarian for the Agricultural Animals and Wildlife Animal Resource Program at Penn State, was the lone candidate on the Republican ballot and advances to the November election. He received 483 votes.

The Republican primary also had 255 write-in votes, which could be a factor in who appears on the November ballot. Democratic candidates potentially could secure the other two Republican nominations through write-ins. The names and individual totals for write-in votes are not yet available.

A registered Republican has not won a borough council seat since 2003.

Central PA United, part of the PA United PAC dedicated to “people-funded campaigns” and candidates with diverse life experiences, saw all four of its Centre Region candidates win Democratic primaries.

In addition to the borough council candidates, local activist, poet and performer Tierra Williams won one of two Democratic nominations for Ferguson Township supervisor. She joins Democratic incumbent Lisa Strickland and Republicans Patti Higgins and Jeremie Thompson on the November ballot for two seats.

“We’re building the grassroots power at the local level to elect candidates from school board to borough council who will push hard for bold, transformative change, and make Happy Valley a place where all of us can thrive,” Central PA United election coordinator Jenna Henry said in a statement. “We endorsed Divine, Gopal, Rich, and Tierra because as borough council members and township supervisor, they will help create a community focused not on what divides us, but on what brings us together.”

Fellow progressive Ezra Nanes, who was not on the Central PA United Slate but was open in his support for the three candidates, is the apparent next mayor of State College after defeating Jim Leous in the primary by a nearly two-to-one margin of 1,690 votes to 851. No Republican ran and Leous is not expected to accept a write-in nomination.

“We … voted in overwhelming numbers for two candidates of color for State College Borough Council, two stellar human beings, Gopal Balachandran and Divine Lipscomb, who brought energy, commitment, humility, inspiring vision and the true wisdom of experience to our discussion of the issues,” Nanes said on Wednesday. “I was proud to support and vote for Gopal and Divine, and I am proud of State College for electing them.

“I look forward to working with them, with Rich Biever, whom I also was proud to support and vote for, and with members of our current Council, including Council President Jesse Barlow, Evan Myers and Deanna Behring, to take action to ensure that we are a just and equitable community for all people.”

Barlow said he was surprised that all three of the progressive council candidates won and that Nanes, whom he publicly supported, won by such a large margin.

“I think part of it is that with a lot of the folks who maybe moved here, that State College might be becoming more progressive than it has been over the years and this is part of it,” Barlow said. “It might be a really broad statement of that.”

Balachandran, Lipscomb and Biever have discussed leveraging their different backgrounds and working with the community to make decisions.

Balachandran is an assistant professor of clinical law at Penn State and former public defender. He would be the first Indian-American to serve on borough council.

Lipscomb has detailed his journey from being incarcerated as a teen and young man to becoming a decorated Penn State adult student, restorative justice advocate and community activist. Should he win in November, he will be the first Black State College Borough Council member.

Biever is the owner of local theater company FUSE Productions and musical theater school Singing Onstage.

All three have spoken about advocating for COVID-19 economic recovery, police training and reallocating funding to mental health and social services, a comprehensive police Community Oversight Board, affordable housing, sustainable, diverse neighborhoods and a pedestrian- and bike-friendly community.

Barlow said that assuming all three win in November, council will have a different bent on some issues than it has in the past.

“This is going to be a very different council with a progressive orientation — in fact, in some sense, by State College standards, radical, I would say,” Barlow said. “It will be hard to predict. There will be some issues where you may not see a difference, but I think on some of the policing issues is where you’ll notice the biggest difference.”