Few prominent York County races will be decided during Nov. 7 election

David Weissman

York Dispatch

From left, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday, his wife, Lishani Sunday, and campaign manager Joel Ogle anticipate results during a primary election watch party at Central Market in York City, Tuesday, May 16, 2017. Dawn J. Sagert photo

York County voters will have plenty of boxes to check on the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 7, but only a few races affecting countywide offices are still up in the air.

Voters will ultimately fill the county positions of controller, coroner, Court of Common Pleas judges, recorder of deeds and district attorney, but only the Common Pleas judges and recorder of deeds races will have more than one nominee listed on the ballot.

Three Common Pleas judge openings are at stake, with four candidates on the ballot.

Kathleen Prendergast, who has been serving as a judge for more than a year after being appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf, and longtime litigator Clyde Vedder will each appear on the Republican and Democratic tickets after they were among the top three vote-getters for both parties during the primary election in May.

From left, parents Barbara and Michael Prendergast, of Spring Garden Township, hold the bible belonging to the grandmother of Judge Kathleen Prendergast as she is officially sworn in by York County President Judge Joseph C. Adams during a ceremony at the York County Judicial Center in York City Wednesday, July 20, 2016. Dawn J. Sagert photo

The rest of the field will include local attorney and York NAACP Chapter President Sandra Thompson on the Democratic ticket and family law attorney Amber Anstine Kraft on the Republican ticket. Each had sought nominations from both parties during the primaries.

More:Recorder of deeds, common pleas judge openings still up for grabs

The recorder of deeds race will feature Republican Laura Shue, a longtime local abstractor, and Democrat Maribel Burgos, a former director of Latino services at the YMCA. Both faced and defeated competition during their primary elections, which all but decided several other countywide races.

Unopposed: Dave Sunday, chief deputy prosecutor for the district attorney's office, edged out attorney Jonelle Eshbach during the Republican primary election. Sunday's name will appear on the Republican and Democratic tickets because he received enough write-in votes from registered Democrats.

More:York DA candidates clash over drug task force

Incumbent Coroner Pam Gay, also a Republican, will similarly have her name appear on Republican and Democratic tickets, though she ran unopposed during the primary election.

The only candidate on the ballot for controller will be Republican Greg Gower, who beat out Julie Haertsch and Bonner Smith in May.

Other races: While the majority of countywide positions will include only one nominee on the November ballot, plenty of other races around the county, including district judge, school director and municipal offices, remain competitive.

Incumbent York City Mayor Kim Bracey already defeated challenger Michael Helfrich for the Democratic nomination during the June primary election, but Helfrich — current city council president — will be listed on the ballot as a Republican after receiving the required nummber of write-in votes.

The two will be joined on the ballot by Libertarian David Moser, who currently serves on the York City school board.

All statewide ballots will include a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing local taxing authorities to exclude up to 100 percent of taxes from a property under the homestead exemption.

The existing law allows local taxing authorities to exclude up to 50 percent of the median assessed value of all homestead properties.

— If you notice a particularly interesting local election you feel deserves more attention, please contact reporter David Weissman at dweissman@yorkdispatch.com.