EMMAUS, Pa. — Following an expensive and heated primary race, the 11 candidates running for East Penn School Board on Tuesday appeared to have been whittled down to 10.
The two slates remain intact on the Republican and Democratic party tickets for the November ballot, according to complete but unofficial results.
- The two slates of candidates in the hotly contested East Penn school board race will appear on the November ballot
- The "Your Voice on the Board" slate of five candidates will appear as Republican candidates while the opposing slate including incumbents Levinson and Jankowski will appear as Democratic candidates
- Brian Wessner, the sole candidate not cross-filed and not acting in coordination with a slate, is the only candidate to not continue to the November municipal election
Democratic candidates for the Nov. election will be registered Democrats Shonta Ford, Gabrielle Klotz and incumbent Joshua Levinson, and Republicans Timothy Kelly and incumbent Jeffrey Jankowski.
"I'm very happy that my colleagues and I will be advancing to the general election," Levinson said. "We are truly grateful to those who voted for us and for the strong showing that we had at yesterday's polls on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.
"With that, we certainly look forward to continuing our conversations with the community to relay our positive pro education platform that serves our students and families needs. And we certainly look forward to a successful showing in November."
"I am overwhelmed by the support I received and excited to move on to the general election," Ford said. "I ran a strong race with a strong team and we are moving forward to November in the general!"
Republican candidates will be the members of the Your Voice on the Board slate of Republicans Paul Barbehenn, Kristofer DePaolo, Lawrence Huyssen, Matt Mull and Angelic Schneider.
Voters registered to either party voted for five of the 11, and the ones with the most votes on each party's ballot advance to the November general election.
All but one candidate, Brian Wessner, had cross-filed and appeared on both the Republican and Democrat primary ballots.
Wessner, a Democrat, is the only candidate to not make it to the November ballot. He said he is thankful for the support he had received.
Current board members Paul Champagne, Allan Byrd and Jen Bowen are not seeking re-election as incumbents Levinson and Jankowski were up for re-election, creating five open seats to be decided in November.
The race was marked with drama as candidates on the Your Voice on the Board slate were accused of collaborating with right wing groups Restoring Excellence in East Penn Education and Moms for Liberty - Lehigh County, which opponents have called extreme. Candidates have denied the connection.
It was financially supported through the PAC candidates organized of the same name by regional business executives and a PAC supporting Republican candidates.
"I am disappointed with the low turnout, but that seems to be par for the course in off-year elections. My goal is simple: to remain focused on the specific issues affecting our East Penn School District and do my best to ignore the loud voices and outside groups trying to nationalize this election using wedge issues," Barbehenn said.
An opposing slate made up of Ford, Klotz, Levinson, Kelly and Jankowski was supported by Valley Values PAC, which was supported by unions, PACs supporting Democratic candidates, current board members William Whitney, Paul Champagne and Allan Byrd and candidate relatives.
The PAC leads a website and group called "Defend East Penn," which spotlights the accusations of extremism toward the Your Voice slate.
Candidates have denied direct connection to the PAC and group, as the Your Voice slate candidates have decried the accusations as "destructive nonsense."
"I am pleased to see that I, and the other members of my slate were honored to get the nomination on the Republican ticket. I am a bit disappointed in not getting selected on the Democratic side, as when I meet with members of the community, the feedback I get is positive and decidedly non-partisan," Mull said. "I am hopeful that we can continue our message of focusing on the issues and that the name calling, and character definition will stop as it is divisive, counterproductive and distracts from the real issues at hand."
