Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam won her Democratic primary race Tuesday night against challenger Joanna Doven for an at-large seat on Allegheny County Council, unofficial tallies showed.
With about 156,000 votes tallied and 98% of precincts reporting results, Hallam had collected 56.4% of the votes counted compared to 43% for Doven, according to the Allegheny County Elections Division.
At an election night event at Trace Brewing in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield, Hallam said voters made a statement.
“What this says is that Allegheny County is sick of the negativity and mudslinging,” Hallam said, referring to attacks made against her by Doven during the campaign. “The people showed up today.”
She said results were good for progressive candidates across the county. State Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville, led the Democratic primary race for county executive and Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan had a double-digit lead over longtime incumbent Stephen A. Zappala Jr. in the Democratic race for district attorney.
“This election is a referendum on all the progressive policies we passed, and a referendum rejecting the old-school way of politics,” said Hallam.
Doven conceded the race late Tuesday, saying that she felt she earned a significant number of votes “as a first-time candidate with no name recognition” running against an incumbent.
“Ultimately, I want to thank my volunteers and supporters who have dedicated hours and hours of their time,” she said.
Doven said she remains “concerned about the future of our region” and would consider running for office again.
“If I feel like it’s time to step back in, I will step back in,” she said.
Hallam, 33, of Pittsburgh’s North Side, was sworn in as a councilwoman in Jan. 2020. Doven, 38, of Squirrel Hill, runs a public relations firm and previously worked as a spokeswoman for former Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
Sam DeMarco is running uncontested for the Republican nomination for the council’s other at-large seat.
In other county council races:
With 98% of precincts in council’s District 10 reporting results, incumbent Democrat DeWitt Walton had collected 38.5% of the votes counted in his primary race against challenges from Carlos Thomas (33%) and Eric Smith (28.1%) in District 10.
With 97% of precincts in District 11 reporting results, incumbent Democrat Paul Klein had collected 61.5% of the votes counted in his primary race against challenge Dennis McDermott (38.1%) in District 11.
Incumbents running uncontested included Republican Suzanne Filiaggi in District 2, Democrat John Palmiere in District 6 and Democrat Nick Futules in District 7.
Democratic newcomer David Bonaroti is running unopposed in District 13, where incumbent Olivia Bennett is not seeking reelection. Todd Hamer is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination in District 2. In District 5, Democrat Dan Grzybek and Republican Mike Embrescia are uncontested in the race to replace incumbent Councilman Tom Duerr, who is not seeking reelection.
