A look at school board race results
Editor’s note: Democrat Samantha Ondilla won the Democratic nomination in Region I in the Nazareth Area School Board race. Incumbent Republican Wayne R. Simpson won the Republican nomination. A previous version of this post misstated Ondilla’s Democratic results.
School board races across the Lehigh Valley saw outcomes where the November election will be a repeat of Tuesday’s primary. A number of races were settled.
Two former board members who lost in 2023 – Easton Area’s Edward Keegan and Parkland’s Patrick Foose – won ballot spots and a chance to return to their positions.
At least one incumbent lost in the Democratic primary. Democrat Jason M. Bashaw placed fifth out of four in the Catasauqua Area School Board race. He was not on the Republican ballot.
Following is a look at the unofficial results of contested school board races in Lehigh and Northampton counties.
LEHIGH COUNTY
Allentown School Board
All four seats were up for grabs as incumbents Lisa Conover, Jennifer Lynn Ortiz, LaTarsha Brown and Phoebe Harris bowed out from running again. In an unusual twist for the Democratic majority city, the November race will pit four – Republicans Robert E. Smith, a former school board member, Dianne Michels, Tom Houck and David Zimmerman – against three Democrats Evette D’Amore, Cereta Johnson and Denzel Morris.
Four-year term, vote for four
Democratic ballot
Evette D’Amore, D – 3,131
Cereta Johnson, D – 2,386
Dianne L. Michels, R – 2,236
Denzel Morris, D – 2,159
Michael McDermott, D – 2,110
David Zimmerman, R – 2,075
Robert E. Smith, R – 1,756
Republican ballot
Smith – 1,106
Tom Houck – R – 960
Zimmerman – 934
Michels – 742
D’Amore – 503
Catasauqua Area
Incumbent Jason M. Bashaw was ousted in the Democratic primary. Winning one of four spots was newcomer Jamie Nattress, unofficial results show. With Dale Hein the lone candidate on the GOP ballot, the four top vote-getters will likely win in November.
Four-year term, vote for four
Democratic ballot
Christy Onkotz Cooper, D, incumbent – 499
Shawn McGinley, D, incumbent – 435
Dale K Hein, R, cross-filed, board president – 401
Jamie Nattress, D – 394
Jason M Bashaw, D, incumbent – 353
East Penn
November’s election will be a repeat of Tuesday’s race. All seven candidates secured ballot positions with William Whitney, an incumbent Democrat, winning on both ballots. The only other incumbent running, Republican Michael Felegy, won on the GOP ballot.
Four-year term, vote for four
Democratic ballot
Melissa Stiavelli, D – 3,681
Christine Price, D – 3,613
Rita Perez, D – 3,493
William Whitney, D, incumbent – 2,984
Michael Felegy, R, incumbent – 1,161
Alicia Du Plooy, R – 826
Paul Barbehenn, R – 819
Republican ballot
Felegy – 2,391
Barbehenn – 2,176
Whitney – 1,415
Du Plooy – 1,304
Stiavelli – 1,204
Price – 1,192
Perez – 816
Parkland
Republican Patrick Foose, who was ousted in the primary two years ago, won a spot on the GOP ballot as did George Rivera, who lost in the general election in 2023. Incumbent Republican David J. Hein and Democrat Alyssa Beckwith won on both ballots.
Four-year term, vote for four
Democratic ballot
Alyssa Beckwith, D – 4,371
Matthew Weimann, D – 3,898
Jon Macklin, D – 3,754
David J. Hein, R, incumbent – 3,411
Patrick H. Foose – 1,226
Republican ballot
Foose – 2,169
George Rivera, R – 1,951
Hein – 1,825
Beckwith – 1,634
Weimann – 1,355
Macklin – 1,322
Southern Lehigh
The November election will feature the seven candidates who ran on Tuesday. The only contested race was on the Republican ballot. Incumbents Christopher Waycock and Stephen R. Maund emerged as the top two vote-getters. Coming in at number three was Paul Deebel, who ran unsuccessfully in 2023 on a slate of candidates that vowed to reverse accommodations for transgender students and eliminate “woke politics” from classroom lessons. The other winner on the Republican side was Kimberly Jaramillo, a Democrat who won on the Democratic ballot too. The other Democratic winners were Chris Sykora, Josh Rager and Luis Melecio.
Republican ballot
Four-year term, vote for four
Christopher Waycock, R – 1,457
Stephen R. Maund, R – 1,378
Paul Deebel, R – 1,434
Kimberly Jaramillo, D – 545
Chris Sykora, D –516
John Rager, D – 469
Luis Melecio, D – 288
Whitehall-Coplay
Five candidates won nominations for four spots on the Nov. 5 ballot. Three candidates, George Williams, Joseph Shields and William Fonzone Sr. won on the Democratic and Republican ballots, while LoriAnn Fehnel won a Democratic nomination and Robert Falkenstein, a Republican nomination.
Four-year term, vote for four
Democratic ballot
George Williams, D, incumbent – 1,220
Joseph Shields, D, incumbent – 1,091
William Fonzone Sr., R — 1,091
LoriAnn Fehnel, R – 1,053
Robert Falkenstein, R – 1,038
Republican ballot
Fonzone – 683
Williams – 670
Falkenstein – 658
Shields – 611
Fehnel – 600
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY
Bethlehem Area
All four candidates earned spots on the November ballot with incumbent Democrats Shannon L. Patrick and Michael E. Faccinetto winning on both. Incumbent Democrat Silagh White won a Democratic nomination, and Heather L. Christein won a Republican nomination.
Vote for three
Democratic ballot
Shannon L. Patrick, D, incumbent – 7,276
Michael E. Faccinetto, D, incumbent – 6,138
Silagh White, D, incumbent – 5,569
Heather L. Christein – R – 5,125
Republican ballot
Faccinetto – 2,558
Heather L. Christein — 2,498
Patrick – 2,401
Easton Area Region III – vote for two
Democrat Edward Keegan, who was ousted from the school board two years ago, won a spot on both ballots on Tuesday. Incumbent Democrat Meg Sayago secured a spot on the Democratic ballot while Shaun Jensen won a GOP nomination.
Democratic ballot
Meg Sayago, D, incumbent – 1,739
Edward Keegan, D – 1,278
Tonette Placotaris, R – 554
Republican ballot
Shaun Jensen, R – 614
Keegan – 458
Placotaris – 339
Sayago – 319
Nazareth Area
All regions will see a race in November. A previous version of this story reversed the Democratic results in Region I.
Region I, vote for one
Democratic ballot
Samantha Ondilla, D – 527
Wayne R. Simpson, R, incumbent – 211
Republican ballot
Simpson – 662
Ondilla – 277
Region II, vote for two
Democratic ballot
Brandon Faust – 571
Wendy Whiteash – 420
Sean Cobb – 404
Republican ballot
Whiteash – 633
Melissa Kalinoski – 553
Region III, vote for two
Democratic ballot
Christine Stokfo, D – 485
Linda Gerenser Stubits, R – incumbent – 328
Kathryn Roberts, R – incumbent – 325
Republican ballot
Stubits – 358
Roberts – 337
Northampton Area
All regions will have races in November.
Region I, four-year term, vote for one
Democratic ballot
Douglas Vaughn, R, incumbent – 572
Zachary Kromer, R – 533
Republican ballot
Kromer – 810
Vaughn – 321
Region II, four-year term, vote for two
Democratic ballot
Ross Makary, D, incumbent - 654
Frances Shehab, D - 602
Nathan J. Lichtenwalner, R, incumbent - 502
Republican ballot
Lichtenwalner – 398
Makary – 373
Shehab – 227
Region III, four-year term, vote for one
Democratic ballot
Parker Flamisch, D, incumbent – 396
David L. Gogel, R, 278
Jamie Shankweiler Marchiano, R – 167
Republican ballot
Marchiano – 575
Flamisch – 342
Gogel – 194
Pen Argyl Area Region I
While there will be a race in Region I, the district’s Regions II and III did not field any candidates on either ballot.
Four-year term, vote for two
Democratic ballot
Thomas Knorr, D – 116
Christopher Dubbs, D – 96
Republican ballot
James A. Frey, R, incumbent – 143
Thomas Knorr, D - 103
Ethan Habrial, R, incumbent – 61
Saucon Valley
Six candidates won spots on the ballot with incumbents Cedric Dettmar, a Republican, and Shamim Pakzad, who is not affiliated with a party, winning on both ballots.
Four-year term, vote for four
Democratic ballot
Meghan Lomangino, D – 1,296
J. Christian Tatu, D – 902
Cedric Dettmar, R, incumbent – 844
Shamim Pakzad, no party, incumbent – 755
Kenneth Bloss, R – 749
J. Barrett Geyer, R – 588
Republican ballot
Geyer – 889
Lynn Kasper, R – 810
Dettmar – 802
Pakzad – 692
Bloss – 461
Lomangino – 413
Tatu – 321