Few local races on the Allegany County ballot

Greg Larry, Cumberland Times-News, Md.
·2 min read

May 13—CUMBERLAND — With few candidates opting to run, and the city of Cumberland mayoral and Allegany County Commission seats not up until 2026, voters will have few local races on the ballot in Tuesday's primary.

Voters will be able to cast their ballot for U.S. president, U.S. senator, District 6 House of Representatives and delegates to the Democratic and Republican conventions.

Diane Loibel, election administrator for Allegany County, said early voting, which ran from May 2-9, was less than expected.

"It's been pretty slow. There is not a lot on the ballot as far as local races," said Loibel.

A total of 1,017 votes were cast during early voting. With Allegany County having 33,563 eligible voters, it represents just over 3% of the total. The largest turnout was May 6 when 142 people voted.

"I would say it's back to where it was before COVID," said Loibel. "Other than 2020, when we had large lines that year ... prior to that we did not. So it's returning back to normal after the pandemic."

Although Cumberland City Council and the Allegany County Board of Education have two seats open this year, neither race attracted enough candidates to require primary voting. Both races will move to the Nov. 5 general election.

For City Council, three candidates are challenging incumbents for two open seats. Former Cumberland Police officer Brian Lepley, D.A. Tinnen and Simeon L. Younger are seeking seats currently held by Eugene Frazier and Laurie Marchini, who are seeking reelection.

The Allegany County Board of Education race also features two open posts.

Seats currently held by Crystal Bender and Tammy Fraley are up, and both are seeking reelection. Challengers are Max Green and Gerry LaFemina.

With the number of candidates not reaching the minimum required of five, the BOE race will also move on to the general election.

The Board of Education and City Council posts are four-year terms. The BOE consists of five seats in total while the City Council has four seats. Elections are staggered to prevent all seats from being open at once.

All 28 polling places will be open Tuesday for primary voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.