Harrisburg city hall (file photo)
Eight Democrats will vie for three seats on Harrisburg City Council, as the petition deadline for the May primary came to a close on Tuesday.
Council President Danielle Bowers and newly appointed council member Robert Lawson both submitted petitions to compete in the May 16 municipal primary. However, two-term member Westburn Majors did not, meaning that the field will include an open seat.
In an interview following Tuesday night’s council meeting, Majors cited “family obligations” for his reason not to seek re-election.
“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done on council over the last two terms to move the city forward,” he said. “I will continue to be involved in the community.”
Other candidates for the three, four-year council seats include:
- Cole Goodman
- Lamont Jones
- Brad Barkdoll
- Lori Beamer Saulisbury
- Crystal Davis
- Leslie C. Franklin
No Republicans submitted candidate petitions for city council.
Harrisburg also has an election for five, four-year seats to the school board. As of the deadline, only four candidates, all Democratic incumbents, submitted nominating petitions. They are:
- Ellis Rick Roy
- James Thompson
- Doug Thompson Leader
- Terricia Radcliff
For city treasurer, only Democratic incumbent Dan Miller submitted nominating petitions to run for the four-year seat.
For magisterial district justice, long-time incumbent Barbara Pianka did not submit election petitions for District 12-1-02. However, her son, Matthew Pianka, did, cross-filing as both a Democrat and a Republican. Autumn Fair Cooper also filed for the Democratic nomination for the six-year term.
For District 12-1-04, Democrat Mikaela Sloan was the lone candidate to file for that district judgeship. The seat is currently held by MDJ David O’Leary.
In District 12-1-05, incumbent MDJ Hanif Johnson cross-filed for both the Democratic and Republican nominations. He faces competition on the Democratic side from Claude Phipps and Lori Ann Jenkins.
In District 12-1-06, Wendy Grella was the lone candidate to file petitions for the position, cross-filing for both parties. MDJ Joseph Lindsey currently holds that judgeship.
Note: All candidate information is current as of 4:34 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration & Elections. The deadline to file was 4:30 p.m. For more information on primary candidates throughout Dauphin County, visit their website.
Maddie Gittens contributed to this story.
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