Justin Douglas (photo credit: Justin Douglas for County Commissioner)
It’s all but official—Dauphin County will have a Democratic-controlled board of commissioners starting next year.
On Monday evening, the county Bureau of Elections released revised voting totals that seemed to affirm a narrow victory for Justin Douglas, who will unseat Republican Chad Saylor.
In the revision, which took into account provisional ballots, Douglas tallied 26,973 votes compared to 26,826 for Saylor. The 147-vote lead actually increased Douglas’ margin, which stood at 42 votes at the end of Election Day last week.
“I am profoundly grateful to the voters who have proven that local elections wield significant influence and that the voice of the people can bring about transformative change,” Douglas said, in a statement. “This win is a testament to the power of community-driven politics, and I am honored to be entrusted with this responsibility.”
Douglas came in third place in the four-person race. Long-time Democratic commissioner George Hartwick placed first in the balloting with a revised 32,252 votes and current commission chair Mike Pries placed second with 31,563 votes.
In Pennsylvania’s system, the three-seat county board of commissioners is always split on a partisan basis, with the majority party occupying two seats and the minority party occupying one.
This was Saylor’s first campaign for commissioner. Saylor, the long-time chief clerk for the county commissioners, was appointed to the seat in June 2021 to replace long-time commissioner Jeff Haste, who resigned in the middle of his term.
Douglas, who lives in Conewago Township, is the founder and lead pastor of the Harrisburg-based Belong Collective. Before that, he was lead pastor of the Bridge Church.
This election was a historic win for county Democrats, who will hold a majority on the board for the first time in at least 100 years, according to PennLive.
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