Update: GOP write-in win for Houck means rematch with Baratta in November in Norco DA race
William Rowe, Norco council candidate, also wins GOP write-in vote
Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck will have another chance to remain in office despite losing last week’s Democratic primary to former judge Stephen Baratta.
Houck received 1,468 write-in votes on the Republican ballot to win that party’s nomination, according to unofficial county returns released Monday afternoon.
In the May 16 primary, Baratta captured 54% of the Democratic vote, 12,943 to 10,799, according to the county’s unofficial results.
The campaign was filled with charges and countercharges by each candidate, questioning each other’s character and job performance. Baratta’s campaign outspent Houck’s, $115,000 to about $87,000, according to campaign finance reports for the period Jan. 1 to May 1.
William Rowe, who was removed from the GOP primary ballot for District 1, ran a successful write-in campaign to get on the November ballot as a Republican with 321 votes, according to unofficial county results.
That write-in victory culminates a roller-coaster ride to remain on the ballot for Rowe, a Republican from Hellertown. He initially survived a Northampton County Court challenge, filed by Steven Topp of Bethlehem, over his candidate financial interest statement. Topp’s attorney, Larry Otter, filed an appeal before the state Commonwealth Court, which returned the case to county court. A new order by Senior Judge Edward Reibman removed Rowe from the ballot.
Rowe will face Democrat Ken Kraft, a former county council president who, as reported by LehighValleyLive.com, resigned from council in 2018 when he took a job as safety director in the county Corrections Department. He resigned from the job to try to return to council. District 1 comprises Bethlehem, Hellertown and the townships of Lower Saucon and Williams.
Kerry Myers, president of Northampton County Council, received 197 write-in votes and fell short of the 250 needed to get on the Republican ballot from council District 2. Myers, who was removed from the Democratic ballot over invalid nomination petition signatures, switched to the Republican Party and mounted a write-in campaign. District 2 comprises Easton, the boroughs of Glendon, Stockertown, Tatamy, West Easton and Wilson, and the townships of Forks and Palmer.
Kelly Keegan, a Forks Township supervisor, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination after Myers was removed from the ballot, is the only District 2 candidate on the November ballot.
Lehigh County
Lehigh County District Attorney candidate Gavin Holihan, unopposed for the Republican nomination, received 458 write-in votes to win the Democratic nomination, according to unofficial returns posted Monday by the Lehigh County elections office.
Holihan, picked by DA Jim Martin to be his successor, needed at least 250 write-in votes to win the Democratic primary. No Democratic candidate appeared on the ballot in the May 16 primary.
The day before the primary, four Democratic officials – state Reps. Mike Schlossberg and Josh Siegel, Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong and Alburtis Mayor Kathleen Palmer – endorsed Holihan and urged voters from their party to write in Holihan’s name on the ballot.
In January, Holihan, a defense lawyer, was appointed first assistant district attorney by Martin. Holihan served as an assistant district attorney from 1992-97 and assistant county solicitor from 1997-99.
After appointing Holihan as his first assistant, Martin, a Republican, later that month announced he would not seek reelection after serving 25 years as DA. That opened the door for Holihan to succeed Martin. Interestingly, Martin received 72 write-in votes on the Democratic ballot.
Sheriff Joe Hanna, a Republican who was unopposed for his party’s nomination, picked up 912 write-in votes to gain the Democratic nomination, where no candidate ran in the primary. Hanna is seeking a third four-year term as sheriff.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly noted that Kerry Myers received enough write-in votes to get on the ballot as a Republican. He did not.