Republicans Sweep Warminster Elections

As the election results began trickling in Tuesday night, it became clearer that the Warminster Republican party had a good day. At the township GOP's post-election party at , the gathered supporters erupted in applause when Warminster Supervisor Leo Quinn announced that Mark McKee had been voted the new supervisor-elect by a margin of more than 1,000 votes.

"I want to thank everybody who worked hard to make this happen," McKee said in his victory speech. "I look forward to serving the people of Warminster."

McKee's victory over James Scott turns the board of supervisors majority over to the Republicans after four years of Democratic control. When he takes the seat at the Jan. 3, 2012 reorganization meeting, McKee will join Quinn and Tom Panzer for the majority over Democrats Frank Feinberg and Ellen Jarvis, but he hopes to see bipartisan cooperation while dealing with issues such as the future of the WREC or stormwater relief.

"We're also going to be tightening the screws wherever we can," said McKee. "I think we should re-evaluate all of the township professionals and make sure we are getting as much productivity out of them as we can."

The good news for the Republicans kept pouring in as Dr. Andrew Pollock held on to his Region II Centennial School Board seat and Steve Adams defeated Democratic opponent Mark Greiner for the second Region II school board seat. Chuck Kleinschmidt ran unopposed in Region III for the school board election and secured another Republican victory.

"We ran an honest, hard-working campaign that was won by our efforts and not by lies," said Adams. "I think it's important for the school board to meet any challenges in the same way."

Incumbent Tom Davis defeated Democratic challenger Jim Brickman for the township auditor position, and magisterial judge Daniel Finello, Jr., who arrived at the party fresh from a 2-1 loss by Wood's girls varsity soccer team to Owen J. Roberts, held onto his seat after running unopposed.

The victory party had a surprise late guest when Scott showed up to officially concede the race to McKee and congratulate his opponent.

"Either outcome would have been a win-win for Warminster because they would have elected someone who wants only the best for the township," said Scott. "I'm happy to call Mark the supervisor-elect."

Scott said there was certainly disappointment as the results came in at the Democrats' post-election party, held at Giuseppe's Pizza & Family Restaurant. He felt the party made a strong argument that highlighted his experience on the township financial and zoning committees, but the residents had clearly spoken.

"The numbers are stark and show where we are as a party in this township," said Scott. "This is definitely a referendum on the party, and we need to connect more with the residents and change their minds."

The Warminster Republicans also carried the township for the Bucks County commissioner race, making Charles Martin and Rob Loughery the top vote-getters and contributing to their ultimate success in holding on to the majority. Democrat Diane Ellis Marseglia also held on to her seat, making her running mate, Det Ansinn, the odd man out.

"We ran a great campaign, and while unfortunately we did not get the results we wanted, we always kept out campaign issue-based, and never resorted to personal attacks," Ansinn said in a statement.

Other unofficial winners include Donald Petrille (Register of Wills), William Snyder (County Treasurer), Mary Smithson (Clerk of Courts), Joseph Campbell (Coroner).

The final, unofficial numbers for the Warminster seats, as reported on the county's website, are:

Supervisor

Mark McKee (R): 3,476

James Scott (D): 2,376

Auditor

Thomas Davis (R): 3,332

Jim Brickman (D): 2,289

School Director, Region II

Andrew Pollock (D & R): 2,801

Steven Adams (R): 1,719

Mark Greiner (D): 1,191

School Director, Region III

Charles Kleinschmidt (D & R): 2,475

Magisterial District Judge

Daniel Finello, Jr. (unopposed): 5,651