Incumbent Vandergrift Mayor Barbara Turiak has been defeated by a familiar face, if unofficial results from Tuesday’s Democratic primary hold up.
Councilman Lenny Collini had a 12-vote advantage over Turiak in the Democratic primary race for mayor, according to the tally from all five precincts.
Collini collected 166 Democratic votes (50.8%), compared with 154 votes (47.1%) for Turiak, according to the unofficial results. A total of 327 Democrats voted.
There was no Republican candidate on the ballot, though 128 Republicans cast write-in votes. The write-in results were not available early Wednesday, and attempts to obtain information on when write-in and all mail-in votes will be counted and uploaded online were unsuccessful Wednesday.
According to the the Westmoreland County elections website, mail-in ballots will take several days to upload and count.
Turiak and Collini vowed to keep the mayoral race cordial during their campaigns.
“I totally respect her. I’m very grateful for where I’m at right now. I’m grateful to the town and everyone who voted for me. It’s still up in the air. Until then, I will sit tight, relax a little bit and get over this primary, and I wish everyone, even Barb, well,” Collini said.
Turiak said, “Until we get the final results, I have no comment.”
The two public servants have known each other for years and served on council together.
Collini, 61, said he decided to run for mayor to take his public service to “the next level” after serving on council for 12 years.
A Vandergrift native and Kiski Area High School graduate, Collini is a singer-songwriter and highway maintenance employee.
His campaign platform stressed tackling blight, improving Vandergrift’s curb appeal and promoting more unity in the borough of about 5,000 residents.
In Vandergrift, the mayor presides over council meetings and votes on council agenda items only in the event of a tie vote. The mayor is elected to a 4-year term and receives a monthly stipend of $50.
