By the time the polls closed on Election Day in Petersburg, 1,279 ballots had been cast and counted. That’s about 200 more than last year.
The sole question on the ballot this year decided Petersburg’s senior sales tax exemption would be limited to only low-income seniors who qualify for the state’s senior benefits payment program. That includes individuals with an annual income of no more than $34,213 or couples with an annual income of no more than $46,253.
Unofficial results show that the ballot measure passed by a 9-vote margin — 633 votes in favor, and 624 against the change.
The proposition was put forward by the Petersburg Borough to garner funds for essential public services in response to rising costs, falling revenue, and a growing senior population; the town’s senior population grew from 6% in 1980 up to 24% in 2024.
Proposals regarding the senior sales tax exemption have failed to pass on previous ballots; however, it was the first time this income limitation question for the exemption has gone before voters.
Five candidates ran for the two open seats on Petersburg’s Borough Assembly. Bob Martin won a seat with 825 votes, and Jeff Meucci won the other with 539 votes. Incumbent Donna Marsh fell just short with 520 votes; 286 votes were cast for Raliegh Cook; 221 votes were cast for Tony Vinson.
There was also a contested mayoral race this year. With 807 votes, Bob Lynn has been elected as Petersburg’s next mayor. Scott Newman also ran for mayor, but fell short with 443 votes to his name.
Both mayoral candidates have served alongside each other as current assembly members. Newman’s assembly seat expired this year, but he chose to run for mayor instead. Lynn’s move to the mayor’s seat means there is a vacant seat on the assembly. Letters of intent to fill that seat can be submitted to the borough clerk after the election is canvassed. Assembly members will decide who to appoint to fill the seat for one year.
Two seats on the town’s Public Safety Advisory Board were up for election. Incumbent Devren Bennett was elected with 992 votes, alongside Stan Hjort with 580 votes. Incumbent John Lichtenberger also ran in the contested race but garnered 343 votes and was not reelected. Hjort had one year remaining in his existing term on the board, but will vacate that seat now that he has been elected to serve until 2028.
Three candidates ran uncontested for the three Hospital Board seats. Joni Johnson was elected (993 votes) alongside incumbents Cindi Lagoudakis (874 votes) and Joseph Stratman (853 votes).
Incumbents Barb Fish (890 votes) and Debra Dzijuksuk O’Gara (791 votes) were reelected to their seats on the Library Advisory Board, uncontested.
As for the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board, Wally McDonald (909 votes) and Incumbent Casey Knight (997 votes) ran uncontested for the two open seats. Martin had one year left as board chair, but is vacating that seat as a newly-elected assembly member.
All but two of the borough’s 20 positions are 3-year terms. One of three seats on the Planning Commission and one of three on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board are 2-year terms.
For the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Sunny Rice was elected to the 2-year term (1,039 votes), and incumbents Chrystine Lynn (893 votes) and Michele Pfundt (768 votes) were elected for the 3-year terms.
Sarah Fine-Walsh was elected to the single 2-year seat on the Planning Commission, with 833 votes. Joshua Adams was elected as a write-in candidate for one of the 3-year terms, with 66 votes. Adams had previously filed as a candidate for the 2-year term, but withdrew and filed as a write-in candidate for a 3-year term instead. Write-in candidates are required to file as such with the Borough prior to Election Day in order for write-in votes in their name to count. (A write-in vote for Shrek was cast for the Planning Commission, but the fictional ogre hadn’t done the proper paperwork.)
Longtime School Board president Sarah Holmgrain was reelected to her seat with 1,042 votes.
Besides Lynn’s vacated Borough Assembly seat, Hjort’s vacated Public Safety Advisory Board seat and Martin’s vacated Harbor Board seat, one seat on Petersburg’s Planning Commission and one seat on the School Board remain vacant because no candidates ran for them.
There are four outstanding ballots remaining to be counted, but that is not enough to change the outcome of these preliminary results. The final results for Petersburg’s municipal election will be canvassed at noon this Friday, Oct. 10, in the Assembly Chambers.
This story was updated on Oct. 10 with additional information regarding a vacant seat on the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board, left by Bob Martin due to his new position on the Petersburg Borough Assembly.
