Westmoreland Democrats to select new party leaders

Amid voter registration declines and defeats at the polls, Westmoreland County Democrats will pick new leaders this weekend with an eye toward reinvigorating the political party that, two decades ago, held a dominant position in local politics.

Current committee chairwoman Tara Yokopenic was elevated to the job in early 2020 after a series of leadership resignations. She elected to serve out the remaining two years of the term but announced this spring she would not seek reelection.

Two women active in the local political scene, Michelle McFall of Murrysville and Ceil Kessler of Greensburg, have announced bids to become the new chairwoman when the party’s committee members gather at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 4 at Hempfield Park.

McFall, 53, serves as the chairwoman of the Murrysville-Delmont Democratic Committee. A former school teacher, she has spearheaded several local campaigns and has been active in state Democratic politics.

“I’ve watched the party decline. The county committee has been depleted, and we need to start the rebuild and reclaim our Democratic identity, specifically in Westmoreland County,” McFall said.

McFall’s candidacy for party leader is backed by Scott Graham, current committee vice-chairman, and Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher, the lone elected Democrat in the county.

“She is well known among the Democratic Party and labor leaders throughout Western Pennsylvania. Westmoreland County still holds a significant weight in statewide politics. Michelle will put Westmoreland on the map with her connections throughout the state,” Thrasher said.

Kessler, 51, an active member of Voice of Westmoreland, works as a data analyst and sits as the chairwoman of the party’s District 7 committee that includes Greensburg, Hempfield and Jeannette.

“The biggest problem we have is communicating with our voters. There is no consistent method, and we really need some fundamental improvements,” Kessler said.

The committee’s impending leadership change comes as Democrats continue to struggle in the county.

Twenty years ago, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a more than 2-to-1 margin and held nearly every elected office in the county. In 2019, the GOP surpassed Democrats in the number of registered voters, and, this spring, expanded its edge to more than 25,000. There are nearly 120,000 registered Republicans in the county, representing more than 48% of voters. Democratic registration dropped to just more than 95,000 and accounts for almost 39% of county voters.

Just one Democrat appeared on last month’s primary ballot to challenge five incumbent Republicans seeking reelection to the state House.

Meanwhile, only about 10% of the party’s 614 committee seats had candidates on last month’s ballots. The party elects new committee members, one man and one woman from each of the county’s 307 voting precincts, every four years.

Yokopenic said the condensed timeframe caused by redistricting delays left potential candidates with only days to qualify to appear on this spring’s ballot. Most committee seats will be filled by candidates who won write-in campaigns.

Winners in nearly 200 committee races aren’t expected to be determined until this afternoon, when Westmoreland County election officials convene at the courthouse to break election ties. Officials said 191 committee races ended in ties with multiple candidates receiving one or two votes.

The county elections board is scheduled to give a final certification to the May vote June 6.

Party bylaws prevented the Democrats’ reorganization meeting being delayed, Yokopenic said. It’s still unclear how many committee members are expected to attend Saturday’s vote.

“We’ve notified everyone we believe will be elected,” Yokopenic said.