Write-in appears to be winner in Waynesboro school race

November 08, 2007|By JENNIFER FITCH

WAYNESBORO, PA. - A Waynesboro chiropractor who launched a last-minute write-in campaign for the Waynesboro Area School Board appears to have won the regional seat in Tuesday's Pennsylvania municipal election.

At the end of last week, Mindy Rouzer, of 215 S. Broad St., announced her intention to run a write-in campaign against Jennifer Johns, a Republican homemaker from 267 Hawbaker Ave.

Johns got the Democratic and Republican nominations in May's primary election.

The Franklin County Election Board won't announce official results for several days, but each polling place posts information about its write-in votes on the door upon closing.

The Herald-Mail visited the seven polls in Waynesboro and counted 680 write-in votes for Rouzer. Complete, but unofficial results from the election board show 396 votes for Johns.

"I think it was a collective effort. ... There was a lot of support from friends, family and community members," said Rouzer, 32.

She said she wants to learn how to be an efficient member of the board.

"The one thing I definitely want to do before we start, or in the beginning, is meet the other members, get to know them," Rouzer said.

Voters in the Waynesboro Area School District elect by regions, with Johns and Rouzer vying for the Borough of Waynesboro's four-year term.

Of the 5,609 registered voters in the Borough of Waynesboro, 1,171 cast municipal ballots on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Support for Rouzer was strongest in the Ward 1-2 precinct, which uses the Waynesboro Church of the Brethren as its polling place. There, the unofficial tallies show she had four times the number of votes as John.

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