Fox Chapel Area voters oust incumbent when setting November ballot

At least one Fox Chapel Area School Board incumbent was ousted in the May primary election, and another narrowly made it onto the November ballot, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Bureau.

Barring a write-in campaign this fall, it appears Eric Schmidt, a two-term incumbent, lost his re-election bid for Region 1.

In Region 2, incumbent Terry Wirginis won a spot on the November ballot by a slim six-vote margin.

A total of nine candidates were seeking November ballot positions for five open seats on the board.

They are Marybeth Dadd of Riverwatch Drive, Greg Dolan of Mayflower Drive, Nancy Foster of Windsor Road, Ron Frank of Heathergate Drive, Eric Hamilton of Woodshire Drive, Vanessa Lynch of Saxonburg Boulevard, Lisa Marie Rutkowski of Davonshire Drive, Schmidt of Oakhurst Road and Wirginis of Old Pine Lane.

All candidates cross-filed except Dolan, who was on the Republican ticket only.

All available terms run four years.

In Region 1, which covers Sharpsburg and Wards 2, 3 and 4 of O’Hara, there were two available seats among Hamilton, Rutkowski and Schmidt.

According to county election results, Rutkowski got 586 votes, Hamilton got 442 and Schmidt got 385 on the Democratic ticket.

On the Republican side, Rutkowski got 172, Hamilton got 175 and Schmidt got 164.

Schmidt could not be immediately reached for comment.

In Region 2, Dolan, Frank, Lynch and Wirginis were competing for two open seats. Region 2 covers Indiana Township and Districts 2, 4 and 5 of Fox Chapel.

According to the elections bureau, Lynch got 554 votes, Frank got 515 and Wirginis got 348 on the Democratic side.

For the Republican tallies, Frank got 331, Wirginis got 307, Dolan got 301 and Lynch got 234.

Voters will see a race among Lynch, Frank and Wirginis for two open seats.

In Region 3, Dadd and Foster were vying to fill one open seat. The region covers Aspinwall, Blawnox, Wards 1 and 5 of O’Hara, and Districts 1 and 3 of Fox Chapel.

On the Democratic ticket, Dadd earned 782 votes to Foster’s 313. Republicans cast 271 votes for Foster and 250 for Dadd. The two will face off in the fall for the available seat.