Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
There was a big night for Democrats across the country Tuesday night, and it was no different for local school board races in the Philadelphia suburbs. Democrats grew their majority on the Central Bucks school board, and will control all seats when the newcomers take office. The shift from a conservative majority elected in 2021 that drew national attention for banning book and pride flags to a 9-0 Democratic majority is “unbelievable,” said Diana Leygerman, communications director for CBSD Neighbors United, the Democratic slate. She noted that turnout particularly worked in Democratic candidates’ favor. While school board races in recent years featured high spending and a focus on culture-war issues, this year’s local races were much quieter and attracted far less money. “I think [voters] were afraid of kind of that chaos coming back,” said Adam Bencsik, chair of Pennridge Democrats. The blue wave “doesn’t reflect on the candidates or campaigns we ran,” said Stefano Forte, executive director of the 1776 Project PAC, a national group that backed GOP candidates in several Philadelphia-area school board races, in a statement. “There’s a good chance many voters didn’t even know who they were voting for. We’ll be sure to be back again, and hopefully, the national environment will be better,” he added. Meanwhile, Bucks County Democratic Party chair Steve Santarsiero said Tuesday’s election shows the party is gaining speed. “Two years ago, when Joe Biden was still president and we were facing some headwinds, we still held on to the county courthouse,” Santarsiero said. “We’ve flipped a bunch of school districts and a bunch of towns that year, and this year we’ve only added to that momentum.” Here’s a look at preliminary results in some of the region’s most competitive school board races: Central Bucks Democrats Amanda O’Connor, Daniel Kimicata, David Comalli, and Katrina Filiatrault made a clean sweep of the Central Bucks school board, defeating Republicans Andrew Miller, Sharon Beck, Betty Santoro, and Roman Szewczuk for four open seats. Democrats will now have a 9-0 majority on the board. Leygerman said she believes this hasn’t happened in a very long time — if ever. Centennial School District Voters in Centennial School District chose Democrats over Republican school board President Mary Alice Brancato and another incumbent, Mark Gindhart, flipping board control to a 5-4 Democratic majority. Democrats Karen M.S. Krieger, incumbent Jane Schrader Lynch, and Krista DiPaolo defeated Brancato, Gindhart, and Mark Werner. Flemming Godiksen, the board’s current vice president, was the only Republican Centennial school board member to hold onto a seat. Perkiomen Valley School District Democrats beat three Republican incumbents — Jason Saylor, Don Foundation, and Rowan Keenan — who were running for reelection in Perkiomen Valley. Judy Lofton, Kevin Williams, Cindy Westphal, and Ann Bridy’s victories will give Democrats total control of the board. Souderton Area School District Democrats swept Tuesday’s election in the Souderton Area School District, though the board will still have a 4-5 Republican majority. Democrats Rosemary Buetikofer, Alexandra Wisser, Corinne DeGeiso, and Andrew Souchet won seats on the board. They defeated Republican board President Stephen Nelson and Vice President Andrew Landis, as well as incumbent member Janet Flisak and Republican candidate Stephen Long. Pennridge School District Democrats won three out of four open seats on the Pennridge School District board, maintaining their majority. Brian McMullen was the only Republican on his slate to win a seat. Democrats Carly Taylor, Thomas Trauger, and Nathaniel Leffever won on Tuesday, increasing the party’s majority on the school board to 8-1.
