Campaign signs outside of Harrisburg city hall last November
Harrisburg voters soon will cast ballots in highly competitive primary races for mayor and council, as the deadline passed on Tuesday for candidates to submit their nominating petitions.
For mayor, incumbent Wanda Williams faces a large field of Democratic competitors, including city Treasurer Dan Miller, City Council member Lamont Jones, community activist Tone Cook Jr. and former candidate Lewis Butts Jr., according to the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration & Elections.
Williams is vying for a second term in office, following a long tenure on city council. Miller, in his third term as treasurer, also has served on city council and as city controller. Jones is serving his second year on council. Cook hasn’t held elected office previously but is known as an anti-crime and anti-gun violence advocate. Butts has run unsuccessfully for mayor several times before.
All candidates are Democrats. No Republicans filed to run for mayor for the May 20 primary.
For city council, three incumbents, all Democrats, submitted nominating petitions for re-election for the four, four-year seats: Ausha Green, Jocelyn Rawls and Ralph Rodriguez. Three-term incumbent Shamaine Daniels did not file for re-election, leaving one seat open.
In addition to the incumbents, challengers Leslie Franklin, Lisa Glenn, Sharon Horne, Elyse Irvis, Robert Lawson, Willie Ross, Rich Sanders, Lori Saulisbury, Karl Singleton and Basir Vincent filed to run in the Democratic primary for council.
Like in the mayoral election, no Republicans chose to run for council in Harrisburg, an overwhelmingly Democratic city.
For city controller, attorney Karen Balaban filed for the Democratic nomination. Notably, long-time controller Charlie DeBrunner did not submit for re-election. No Republicans filed to run.
The Harrisburg school board has four, four-year seats and one, two-year seat up for grabs this year.
At the petition deadline, Democratic incumbents Roslyn Copeland, Danielle Robinson, Brian Carter and Jaime Johnsen filed for the four, four-year seats, while Annie Hughes, appointed to the board last year, will run for the two-year seat. No Republicans filed to run.
Dauphin County also has elections for several row offices this year.
For prothonotary, incumbent Matt Krupp of Harrisburg is seeking re-election, running as a Republican. Harrisburg resident Antonio Carreno is the sole Democrat seeking the office.
The clerk of courts primary is competitive, as Tina Nixon and Timothy Pianka, both of Harrisburg, are vying for the Democratic nomination. John McDonald is seeking the Republican nomination for the office.
For county coroner, long-time incumbent Graham Hetrick is seeking another term, running as a Republican. John Harris Jr. filed for the Democratic nomination.
The candidate fields are preliminary, as petition signatures can be challenged through March 18. The ballot will be finalized on March 26, with the primary election slated for May 20.
The candidates in this story are those listed by Dauphin County as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday. We will update the story if candidates are added or removed. Click here to see the full list of candidates running for office in Dauphin County.
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