Erie County Council incumbents cruise to nominations, Foust holds off Aliota
Candidates running for Erie County Council faced little to no opposition in Tuesday's municipal primary election.
The four incumbent council members on the ballot — Democrats Terry Scutella and Mary Rennie and Republicans Brian Shank and Ellen Schauerman — had no primary challengers. And based on unofficial vote totals Tuesday, each is poised to win their party's nomination for the Nov. 7 general election.
Candidates hoping to unseat these incumbents in November also faced no opposition.
The only exception was in the Republican contest for the 1st District seat, where Cody Foust held off Lou Aliota, 1,711 to 858 votes, as of Tuesday evening. The votes reflect all 18 precincts in the 1st District and include 385 mail-in votes for Foust and 147 mail-in votes for Aliota.
Foust, 37, is now poised to face Scutella in November.
Erie County Council primary candidates: Erie County Council race: three Democrats, four Republicans on primary ballot
In an email sent to the Erie Times-News on Tuesday, Foust thanked residents in his district for the opportunity to represent them and stated he looks forward to engaging with as many residents as possible over the coming months.
"I'm excited for the residents of District 1/West Millcreek that come November they will have two solid candidates to choose from — Councilman Scutella or myself — who are focused on the community and positive direction of District 1 and Erie County," said Foust, a field service technician.
Unofficial results
Unofficial results showed Scutella with 3,745 votes, including 1,973 mail-in votes.
A former president of the Millcreek School Board, Scutella, 74, was appointed to council in late 2021 after his predecessor, Kim Clear, became a Millcreek Township supervisor. This year's race is his first campaign for the 1st District seat, which represents the bulk of Millcreek Township.
In the 3rd District, which includes parts of Millcreek Township and the city of Erie, Rennie, 65, garnered 3,409 votes from all 27 precincts, according to unofficial vote totals. The vote included 1,574 mail-in votes.
Rennie, who serves as council vice-chairperson, is seeking a second term.
Her challenger in November will be Republican Kim Hunter, the sole GOP candidate vying for the 3rd District seat.
Hunter, 55, received 1,247 votes as of Tuesday evening. The vote included 247 mail-in votes.
In the 5th District, Shank, 59, who serves as council chairman, received 3,155 votes from all 15 precincts, according to unofficial vote totals. The vote included 458 mail-in votes. Shank is seeking a second term.
Shank will face Democrat Chris Drexel in November. Drexel, the only Democrat seeking the 5th District seat, received 3,485 votes as of Tuesday evening. The vote included 1,765 mail-in votes.
In the 7th District, Schauerman received 3,026 votes, including 375 mail-in votes, according to unofficial vote totals. Schauerman, who is seeking a second term, will run unopposed in November.
Council members will see pay increase in 2024
County Council members serve part-time and currently earn $10,868 a year; council's chairperson gets an additional $1,000 annually.
Starting in 2024, the seven-member County Council will see their pay increase to $11,800 annually with the chairperson getting an additional $1,000, according to Erie County Clerk Julie Slomski.
County Council members serve serve four-year terms.
County Council has a 4-3 Democratic majority.
A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County Council incumbents cruise toward party nominations
