Election results: Upset in Dingman, most other incumbents returned to office

Vote totals that would have won office for candidates in other years did not do the job in this year’s election, which saw an impressive turnout across Pike County.

That proved to be the case for the Student Safety First candidates, who ran on the Democratic line. They want the school district to comply with state health mandates to stop the spread of Covid-19. They racked up thousands of votes, but the incumbents, who, in defiance of the state mandate voted this fall for letting parents decide whether their children should wear masks in school, racked up thousands more. The R’s won big, with all of the Republican incumbents, plus one Republican newcomer, to serve as director for the next four years.

The incumbent Milford Borough mayor, Sean Strub, a Democrat, won easily over his Republican challenger, Lisa Emery, 292-198. The top vote cast for any candidate in the last local election, in 2019, was 189.

Dingman Township saw an upset loss of longtime supervisor Dennis Brink, a Republican who ran on the Democratic line after losing the Republican primary this year to challenger Theo Balu. Brink ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. This is the first year since at least 2003 that Brink has faced a challenger for his position in the general election.

This year’s turnout was still nowhere near what it was in 2020, a presidential election year that saw unprecedented turnout across the country. Total voter turnout in Pike County was 32,743 in 2020, while this year’s turnout was 12,853. That’s still 68 percent higher than the 8,705 total votes cast in the last local election, in 2019.

Here are the unofficial results:

DELAWARE VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL DIRECTOR (four-year term):

WINNER: Pam Lutfy (R, incumbent) 4,515

WINNER: Jessica Adler Decker (R, incumbent) 4,444

WINNER: Felicia Sheehan (R, incumbent) 4,361

WINNER: Derek Smith (R) 4,351

John Johnson (D) 2,724

Rosemary A. Walsh (D, incumbent) 2,722

E.K. Guyre (D) 2,549

Elizabeth Mallard (D) 1,250

Results not provided for write-in candidate Meg Rosenfeld.

DINGMAN TOWNSHIP (six-year term)

WINNER: Theo Balu (R) 1,669

Dennis L. Brink (D, incumbent) 1,256

MILFORD BOROUGH MAYOR (four-year term)

WINNER: Sean Strub (D, incumbent) 292

Lisa Emery (R) 198

MILFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL (four-year term)

WINNER: Maria Farrell (D) 273

WINNER: Doug Manion (D/R) 260

WINNER: George Lutfy (R) 234

Timothy Haar (R) 217

Tamara Chant (D) 210

MILFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL (two-year term)

WINNER: Maria Farrell (D) 245

Andrew Jorgenson (R) 230

PIKE COUNTY SHERIFF (unopposed)

WINNER: Kerry Welsh (R, incumbent) 9,748

Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify that Dennis Brink of Dingman Township ran on the Democratic line but is himself a Republican, not a Democrat. This story will continue to be updated.