LOWER SAUCON TWP, Pa. — Two slates with opposing visions for the Saucon Valley School Board could be poised to face off in the November election.
Unofficial results from Northampton County showed the five-member slate of incumbents — Susan Baxter, Bryan Eichfeld, Laurel Erickson-Parsons, Michael Karabin and Shawn Welch — mostly in command of the Republican primary.
Meanwhile, the opposing Choices for Change slate — challengers Bill Broun, Donald Carpenter, Vivian Demko and Jay Santos — dominated the Democratic primary.
- The incumbents in the Saucon Valley School Board race largely controlled the Republican primary.
- Meanwhile, a slate of challengers dominated in the board's Democratic primary
- The final spots in both primaries were too close to call Tuesday night
But as of 11:30 p.m., the results were still in flux. On the Republican side, J. Barrett Geyer, a Republican not affiliated with the incumbent slate, was 38 votes behind Erickson-Parsons for the final spot on the Republican ballot.
"I’m just very grateful to the voters."Vivian Demko
And on the Democratic side, the last spot was too close to call. Erickson-Parsons was up by just nine votes over Baxter. Northampton County still has at least provisional and military ballots to tally.
“It looks good. It looks like the five of us are going to get on,” said Eichfeld shortly before going to bed. He said he would not be upset if Geyer makes it onto the Republican ballot, calling him a good man. “If he wins on the Republican side, we’ll welcome him in.”
Demko said she was driving around the district picking up campaign signs when someone texted her about her commanding lead on the Democratic ballot. She was ahead of the second-place Santos by about 300 votes.
“I’m just very grateful to the voters,” she said, adding she was disappointed she and her slate didn’t find more support on the Republican ballot.
The primaries saw tensions develop early as the challengers criticized the incumbents over their decision making and leadership approach. The four members said the board had bungled its way into lawsuits, including a high profile battle with the After School Satan Club that ushered in a showdown with the ACLU. The teachers union took the unusual step of endorsing the challengers.
The bi-partisan incumbent slate proudly ran on their record. Saucon Valley routinely scores among the best performing school districts in the region, and the candidates trumpeted their control of the budget. The school board has raised property taxes just three times in the past 12 years, and one of those hikes was offset by the elimination of a per capita tax.
