Write In Candidate

An official write-in candidate in the 2012 election for Berkeley County sheriff has easily outspent his opponents, as well as candidates vying for other county offices on this year's ballot, according to campaign financial statements filed last month. From the beginning of the year through Sept. 28, John Orem reported spending $26,982, according to his first campaign financial statement for the Nov. 6 general election. Orem, who was narrowly defeated in the primary election by James W. Barbour III for the Republican Party's nomination for sheriff, reported spending about $22,000 on his campaign after the May vote, according to his financial statements.

Waynesboro businessman Mike Cermak received 146 write-in votes in the Nov. 8 municipal election, according to unofficial election results. The Franklin County Elections Board finished reviewing write-in votes late Monday. It found Cermak received 72 votes in precinct Waynesboro 1-1 and 74 votes in precinct Waynesboro 1-2 in his attempt to serve on the Waynesboro Borough Council. A total of 171 write-in votes were cast in those two precincts. Cermak, a building inspector, conducted a quiet campaign trying to oust Councilman Ronnie Martin from his seat for the next four years.

Nigh is seeking her third consecutive term on the council. A graduate of North Hagerstown High School, Nigh said her most memorable achievements on the council include supporting the central booking facility so prisoners could be processed more easily and the hiring of nine firefighters. "Per standards, we should have had two men on a truck and we didn't," she said. "There always should have been two. Now we're up to standards. " Nigh said she also saw to fruition a proposal that ended a long-running program in which inmates from the Maryland Department of Corrections were dropped off in Hagerstown

charlestown@herald-mail.com HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - Write-in candidate Charles Mason was declared the mayor of Hedgesville on Monday night following a canvass of the June 6 election results in which eight provisional ballots were allowed. Mason picked up five more votes from the canvass, giving him a total of 42 votes in his race against Dennis Donaldson, according to information from Terri Miskovsky, who won in a close race for town recorder. Donaldson received two more votes in the canvass, giving him a total of 40 votes, Miskovsky said.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Susan J. Webster, longtime mayor of the Town of Bath, is facing a challenge for her post in Tuesday's election. The mayor serves a two-year term and earns an annual salary of $500. Barbara Campbell, of 137 Hageman St., is running as a write-in candidate for mayor. She is a landscaper/housewife, and chairs the Urban Tree Board and is a Streetscape committee member for the Town of Bath. Campbell believes moving the town municipal center into the new courthouse would be "an undue burden that the residents of our town do not need.

Eugene "Buddie" Morris, who was defeated in the July primary for a chance to run for Washington County Commissioner, has filed as a write-in candidate. "I did this because people have called me up and asked me to do it," Morris said. "They said they trust me. " Morris, 75, is a lifelong resident of Washington County. He finished 12th out of 14 candidates on the Democratic ticket with the top five going forward to Tuesday's general election. His issues include correcting the water and sewer problems in Washington County, fighting for taxation justice, attracting high-tech firms to the county and recognizing young people's accomplishments.

karenh@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A write-in candidate for Hagerstown City Council has withdrawn from the election. Kay Robucci, deputy director of the Washington County Board of Elections, said Thursday that Merrill E. "E.J. " Fuller submitted paperwork Wednesday to withdraw his name as a write-in candidate in the May 17 general election. Fuller filed as a write-in candidate after failing to meet a deadline to get his name on the ballot. He and his campaign manager, the Rev. LeRoy J. Guillory, argued in a Jan. 31 hearing before the Hagerstown Board of Elections Supervisors to have his name placed on the ballot, but the board ruled against Fuller.

Former Hagerstown Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II filed paperwork Friday, making his write-in candidacy official for an attempt at re-election to the office. Bruchey announced Thursday that he would file as a write-in candidate. In the March 8 Republican primary, Bruchey lost his bid to be nominated as the party's official candidate in the May 17 general election. Bruchey was mayor from 1997 to 2001, when he lost to incumbent Mayor William M. Breichner. The Republican nominee for mayor is Richard F. Trump.

RANSON, W.Va. - Three incumbent Ranson Town Council members won re-election to four-year terms in an unopposed election Tuesday. Forty-three residents out of 1,200 eligible voters cast their ballots at Town Hall. Charles Beahm Jr. in Ward I received 30 votes, Ernest Breeden for Ward 2 received 26 votes and the at-large council member, Howard Shade, received 31 votes. Tammy Miller, a write-in candidate for town recorder, received 35 votes. The current recorder, Charles Slusher, 70, said he wants to retire after 12 years in office.

RANSON, W.Va. - Three incumbent Ranson Town Council members are unopposed for their positions today in the Ranson municipal election. Residents can cast their ballots from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today at Town Hall. Charles Beahm Jr. is running in Ward I, Ernest Breeden is on the ballot for Ward 2 and the at-large council member is Howard Shade. Tammy Miller is a write-in candidate for town recorder. The current recorder, Charles Slusher, 70, said he wants to retire after 12 years in office.

An official write-in candidate in the 2012 election for Berkeley County sheriff has easily outspent his opponents, as well as candidates vying for other county offices on this year's ballot, according to campaign financial statements filed last month. From the beginning of the year through Sept. 28, John Orem reported spending $26,982, according to his first campaign financial statement for the Nov. 6 general election. Orem, who was narrowly defeated in the primary election by James W. Barbour III for the Republican Party's nomination for sheriff, reported spending about $22,000 on his campaign after the May vote, according to his financial statements.

A Mercersburg, Pa., woman appears to have secured enough write-in votes from the April 24 primary election to appear on ballots for the 9th Congressional District seat this fall. Karen Ramsburg, an independent, ran a write-in campaign for the seat held by Republican Bill Shuster for the past decade. She needed 1,000 votes from Democrats to appear on ballots for the Nov. 6 general election. The 9th District includes all or part of 15 counties in Pennsylvania. Unofficial Democratic write-in results from those counties show Ramsburg received approximately 1,400 votes, with about 440 of them from Franklin County, where she lives.

No one has filed to run as a write-in candidate for three open seats on the four-member Smithsburg Town Council, Town Manager Betsy Martin said. No one had filed to run as a write-in as of the filling deadline at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Martin said. If a voter writes in a name during voting in the upcoming May 8 election, it will not count, Martin said. Although there are three open council seats in the election, initially only one person - incumbent Councilman Donnie Souders - filed to run. Then the town had a special meeting on April 23, where four more people were nominated.

Smithsburg may be without candidates for two council seats in the May 8 election, but there's still hope for a full slate. After some research, Mayor Mildred “Mickey” Myers said town officials have discovered that a special town meeting can be held so citizens can nominate candidates for office. The town has decided to hold such a meeting on April 23 - the first time Myers said she can remember the town has done so. “And I've been around for a while,” Myers said.

Two of three incumbents on Smithsburg Town Council decided not to run for re-election next month, and no one else filed to run for the seats by the 4 p.m. filing deadline Monday, according to Town Manager Betsy Martin. Shirley Aurand and Jerome Martin did not file for re-election, Betsy  Martin said. Council member Donnie Souders filed to run for re-election in the May 8 election about two weeks ago, she said. At one time, primary elections were held in Smithsburg because so many people ran for town office, said Betsy Martin, who described the lack of interest in town office as “sad.” “We always had enough to run,” she said.

Waynesboro businessman Mike Cermak received 146 write-in votes in the Nov. 8 municipal election, according to unofficial election results. The Franklin County Elections Board finished reviewing write-in votes late Monday. It found Cermak received 72 votes in precinct Waynesboro 1-1 and 74 votes in precinct Waynesboro 1-2 in his attempt to serve on the Waynesboro Borough Council. A total of 171 write-in votes were cast in those two precincts. Cermak, a building inspector, conducted a quiet campaign trying to oust Councilman Ronnie Martin from his seat for the next four years.

A Waynesboro Borough Council member might have lost his seat in Tuesday's municipal election, according to complete, but unofficial results from the Franklin County (Pa.) Elections Board. Councilman Ronnie Martin, who is finishing his first four-year term, appeared on ballots Tuesday in an uncontested race for the First Ward seat. However, Martin received 82 votes, compared to 171 cast for write-in candidates. Waynesboro businessman Michael Cermak Sr. ran a quiet write-in campaign that he said only gained momentum the day before the election.

Former Washington County Commissioner John Munson said Friday he was withdrawing his status as a write-in candidate for commissioner and throwing his support behind candidate Kristin B. Aleshire. "You can't win as a write-in," Munson said. Munson, a Republican, said he was endorsing Aleshire, an incumbent and the lone Democrat running for commissioner, because of Aleshire's sense of fiscal responsibility. "I am supporting him only, because I feel that (of) the ones that won the primary, he's the only one that understands the consequences of the downturn in the economy (and of)

Three of the five Republican candidates who appeared to make it through Tuesday's primary election for Washington County Commissioner have ties to the county public schools system, but all three say that won't affect their decisions, should they be elected Nov. 2. Teacher Terry Baker, retired administrator Bill McKinley and current school board member Ruth Anne Callaham are among the five who, based on complete but unofficial results, will join...

HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. -- Mary Sue Catlett was elected Tuesday to serve as mayor of the Town of Hedgesville. Catlett, Town Recorder Terri T. Miskovsky and five Town Council candidates, including one write-in, were unopposed in the election. They were elected to serve four-year terms that begin July 1. Former Mayor Mary Beth Good successfully ran as a write-in candidate for one of the council seats, receiving 10 votes, according to complete, unofficial results released by Miskovsky in an e-mail.