Recent elections show political divide hits home

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

It's no secret that our region is a Republican stronghold.
John McCain would be president now if it had been solely up to Clarion and Armstrong county voters. All of our state representatives are Republican, and our two Congressional representatives are currently on the "right" side (pun intended) of the fence.
But up until recently, it would have been hard for an outsider to say which party dominated voter registration rolls if they were only shown the parties of those we elected for county offices. In Clarion County, looking at the political affiliations of county leaders a decade or so ago would have led anyone to think Democrats were the party in favor. It wasn't that long ago that Democrats boasted control of nearly every county office, including the district judge positions.
But in 2011, Republicans showed their might at the polls, racking up wins in every contested county race in Clarion and Armstrong, and even in many of the very few contested borough and township races.
Republicans not only won the maximum two of three seats for county commissioner in both counties, they blew the Democrats out of the water when it came to total votes collected.
In Clarion County, Republicans Wayne Brosius and Butch Campbell finished with 4,736 votes and 4,612 votes, respectively. With voters only allowed to vote for two, those totals are a far cry from those garnered by Democrats Greg Faller, the eventual third-seat winner with 2,920 votes, and Ron Wilshire, with 2,235 votes.
The tallies were just as lopsided south of the border in Armstrong County, as Republicans Dave Battaglia and Robert Bower received 7,233 votes and 6,897 votes, respectively. Democrat Rich Fink, an incumbent, won the third seat, but with 4,840 votes, and fellow Democrat Dave Wolfe finished with 4,242 votes.
County auditor votes in Clarion County played out roughly the same, as there were two Republicans and one Democrat on the ballot for the three positions. Republicans Scott Keefer and Sue Leonard finished well ahead in total votes of Democrat David Hauser.
And the high-profile district attorney race in Clarion County turned out to not be much of a contest as incumbent Republican Mark Aaron easily beat Democrat Jack Troese by more than 2,000 votes.
The Grand Old Party's dominance could even be see in some local races, most notably in Rimersburg where long-time councilman Gary Fowler, the seven-member council's sole Democrat for many years, was defeated by Republican newcomer Lark Palm and incumbents Roger Crick and Pam Curry.
So what does all this mean? There are two schools of thought here: Republicans are putting up the best candidates for the local offices, or Republican voters are much less likely these days to even consider giving their vote to someone from another political party.
The Republican candidates have been good on the county level; but so too have the Democratic candidates. Going into the elections, there were many political insiders who thought the two Democrats for Clarion County commissioner had a chance to win because of their lengthy resumes and the fact they were well-known through much of the county.
We think, however, that the polarization that has gripped, and at times crippled, national and even state politics has finally hit home, signally an end to a local electorate that is willing to cross party lines for county or local offices.
With this new approach, maybe voters will put into office leaders more in tune with their beliefs. Or, like we've seen in Washington, D.C., these past few years, we may see the success of the political party become the driving force in all decision making, often leading to gridlock and inaction.
When it comes to local and county offices, we don't think political party matters much at all. Over the next several years, it will be interesting to see if these newly-elected officials feel the same way.