John Ebersole, who has served nearly 20 years as a Blair County Commissioner, will not appear on the ballot for a sixth time this fall. Challenger Barry Wright and incumbant John Eichelberger won the two Republican nominations for the November election, with Ebersole finishing third.
Wright, the president of the Altoona School Board, had challenged both incumbant Republicans on the amount of time they spend in the commissioners office. The former vice president at Mid State Bank led the Republican voting with 10,191 votes. Eichelberger was second with 7,822 and Ebersole was third with 7,583.
This campaign turned nasty in the final few days. With accusations flying from both the camp of Wright and Eichelberger.
“I was overwhelmed with the amount of votes I received,” said Wright. “With 1,900 signatures on my petition, 1,500 signs and 270 people changing their party to vote for me in the primary, I was very happy with the support I received. I feel I have a strong presence with the Democratic voters and I hope it will follow me in the fall.”
When asked about the possibility of working with John Eichelberger in the commissioner’s office, Wright was optomistic.
“This is the beginning of a new era in county government,” said Wright. “I hope John comes on board. We have to be able to work with Congressman Bill Shuster, Representatives Jerry Stern, Rick Geist and Larry Sather because that is how we are going to get things done in this area. I hope John comes on board and works for a better Blair County.”
Wright believes the future growth in the county will happen in the Northern Blair County area.
“The northern sector of the county is very important for our growth,” said Wright. “We need to be able to work with the Tyrone and Bellwood boroughs and the township supervisors in the northern end of the county to get things accomplished.”
Eichelberger edged John Ebersole for the final position on the fall ballot.
“I am thankful for the support,” said Eichelberger. “Despite a negative effort against me in the past week, people saw through it and gave me their support.”
When asked if he and Wright could work together if elected in the fall, Eichelberger said, “I have worked with a lot of people since I have been elected. We have worked with many agencies to build the Blair County Ballpark and the convention center. I feel confident that I can work with anybody and I hope he feels the same way.”
There were two Democrats on the ballot who both clinched spots on the November ballot. Incumbant Donna Gority captured 5,722 votes and Greenfield Township Supervisor Joseph Claar captured 3,216.
In a minor upset, Debbie Shuster King, the daughter of Bud Shuster and sister of Congressman Bill Shuster was defeated in her bid to win the Blair County treasurer post by James Carothers by a vote of 7,838 for Carothers and 7,728 for Shuster King.
Mary Ann Bennis easily defeated James Ellis for the position of Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds. Bennis gathered in 9,091 votes while Ellis received 5,917.
County wide, voter participation was at just over 31 percent. Of the 45,172 registered Republicans in Blair County, 23,761 voted yesterday and 16,341 of the 25,303 registered Democrats took their place in the polling booth.
