Lansdale Republican Club Not Endorsing Council Incumbents

The Lansdale Republican Club last month voted to endorse four new faces for candidacy for Lansdale Borough Council, thereby not endorsing two incumbent Republicans seeking re-election.

Dan Dunigan and Mike Sobel will run again for council in 2013. However, the LRC has chosen to endorse newcomers Jean Fritz in Ward One, Tom Work in Ward Two, and Walter "Cory" Brown and Peter Schmitt in Ward Three. Work is a member of the Lansdale Parking Authority.

Dunigan and Sobel responded with Letters to the Editor on the endorsement meeting. Both claim that the LRC is using the four endorsed candidates as "puppets" to push party politics and not put Lansdale Borough first.

Both claim that they were not endorsed because they did not put the Lansdale Republican Club before the borough.

Read Dunigan's opinion submission here.

Read Sobel's opinion submission here.

Dunigan is the chairman of the Lansdale Parking Authority and chairman of the Lansdale Borough Administration and Finance Committee. Sobel is the former chairman of the 311 W. Main Task Force and current chairman of the Lansdale Borough Public Safety Committee.

Lansdale Republican Club Chairman Frank Bartle has not returned emails seeking comment on the matter.

The Friends of Lansdale Democratic PAC is playing a similar tune in the election. The PAC has not endorsed incument Democrat Mary Fuller for re-election. Had current council President Matt West been seeking re-election, he would not have been endorsed by the Friends of Lansdale PAC.

Two seats are up for grabs in Ward One. One seat is up for grabs in Ward Two. Two seats are up for grabs in Ward Three.

Incumbent Jason Van Dame is running on the Independent ticket.

Mayor Andy Szekely will be challenged in November by Democrat and Lansdale Business Association President Doug DiPasquale. 

Incumbent Democrat tax collector Jim Hanratty will be challenged in November by Republican Christine Calhoun.

What follows is the list of nominees by ward, on file at Montgomery County Voter Services:

Ward 1 (Two open seats)

Mary Fuller (D) [Incumbent] [Endorsed by Lansdale Democratic Committee]

Jason Van Dame (I) [Incumbent]

Michele Coyle (R)

Jean Fritz (R) [Endorsed by Lansdale Republican Club]

Joseph A. Wolf (D)

Jeff Howard (D) [Endorsed by Friends of Lansdale and Lansdale Democratic Committee]

Ward 2 (One open seat)

Kathleen Becker (D) [Endorsed by Friends of Lansdale and Lansdale Democratic Committee]

Thomas Work (R) [Endorsed by Lansdale Republican Club]

Michael Sobel (R) [Incumbent]

Ward 3 (Two open seats)

Peter Schmitt (R) [Endorsed by Lansdale Republican Club]

Walter Brown (R) [Endorsed by Lansdale Republican Club]

Leon Angelichio (D) [Endorsed by Friends of Lansdale and Lansdale Democratic Committee]

Liz Troy (D) [Endorsed by Friends of Lansdale and Lansdale Democratic Committee]

Robert Willi (D) 

Richard Strahm (D)

Dan Dunigan (R) [Incumbent]

Fuller will be challenged in the Primary in Ward One by Democrats Joseph Wolf and Jeff Howard. With two seats open, Democratic candidates garnering the two highest votes will move on to the General Election.

Sobel will be challenged by Republican Thomas Work in the Primary. With one open seat in Ward Two, the candidate with the highest vote will move on to face Becker in the General Election.

Dunigan will face Republicans Schmitt and Brown in the Primary in Ward Three. Of the four Democrats in Ward Three, the two with the highest number of votes will move on to the General Election.

Regardless of political party in November, candidates with the two highest votes in Ward One and Ward Three will win the seats. The candidate with the highest amount of votes in Ward Two in November will win the open seat.

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