Upset Brewing in Ross Ward 3 Commissioner Race

Republican challenger John Sponcer garnered 369 votes Tuesday in his campaign for a seat on the in Ward 3 — seven votes more than the incumbent, Democrat Dan Kinross.

Kinross received 362 votes, according to unofficial results delivered to party officials, who said the close vote requires a recount before a winner is declared.

"That can't be finalized until they do a recount," said Dan McClain, vice-chairman of the Ross Township Democrats.

Absentee ballots are not factored into Tuesday's unofficial results, he said. 

"It'll be a few weeks before they declare a winner," McClain said. 

Sponcer lost to Kinross in the Democratic primary but won a write-in campaign to run as a Republican in the Nov. 8 general election. 

Kinross is in his 20th year on the commission and currently is board president. He owns the , which he opened in 1975 and operates in the Babcock Boulevard commercial district. 

Sponcer, a retired Comcast construction technician and volunteer firefighter — he's served both the  and the  — has lived in Ross Township for 37 years. 

Sponcer was at home with his wife and 10-year-old daughter after a full day of campaigning when he received the news Tuesday. 

"I have to wait and see what it comes down to," he said. "That's pretty close. I would have liked it to have been 70 votes. Then it would be a no-brainer." 

He said that if the numbers keep him in the lead, he thinks it'll be an interesting year. 

"It's going to be me against the board," he said. 

Sponcer attributed his strong showing Tuesday to support for people wanting a change in leadership on the board. 

Kinross did not attend Tuesday's gathering of Ross Township Democrats at Evergreen Community Park. He did not immediately respond to a phone message left for him at about 10:15 p.m.

Commissioner Dan DeMarco, who won his race in Ward 1 against Republican challenger Ann Harrold, said the early results in the Sponcer/Kinross race were surprising.

"If this holds, we haven't had a rookie commissioner on this board of commissioners in a number of years," he said. "He's going to be in the extreme minority. It's an interesting dynamic." 

DeMarco won re-election to his seat with 437 votes, according to the unofficial results. Harrold received 263. 

In the third contested race for the board of commissioners, Republican incumbent Grace Stanko was re-elected to her seat with 348 votes, compared with 180 cast for her opponent, Democrat William A. McKellar, according to the votes received by the Ross Township Democrats.  

The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Dan Kinross was the longest-serving commissioner on the Ross Township board. Commissioner Pete Ferraro has served 22 years on the board.