Perkiomen Valley School Board 2021 Election: Republicans Seem To Secure Victory

Editor's Note: This story was updated around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday following updated election returns from the county.

PERKIOMEN VALLEY, PA — The hotly contested school board race in the Perkiomen Valley School District has come to a close, and as of early Wednesday morning, with a 100 percent total vote count in, a team of Republicans seeking to flip partisan control of the board appeared to have won.

The race had pitted a slate of four Democrats against four Republicans trying to win four at-large seats on the board. No incumbents were in this race making it an extremely competitive contest.

The Republicans, who call their team 'Flip 4 PV,' consist of Jason Saylor, Don Fountain, Jason Geddes and Rowan Keenan.

The Democratic team, which goes by the name 'PV PerseVere,' was made up of Tammy Campli, Michelle Keating-Sibel, Michelle Smith and Edward McGuire.

Unofficial election results from the county showed that the Flip 4 PV team came out on top, and candidates in that bloc were thrilled Wednesday morning. The results showed that 100 percent of the vote had been tallied.

"I feel good," Jason Saylor told Patch in an early-morning interview. "To have these numbers, to have this type of victory, it's exciting."

Unofficial county results show that Saylor received 4,828 votes, Fountain got 4,840 votes, Geddes got 4,618 votes and Keenan received 4,837 votes.

On the Democratic side, Campli received 3,702 votes, Smith got 3,689 votes, McGuire received 3,510 votes and Keating-Sibel got 3,656 votes.

Saylor, who said during the last school board election, in 2019, the Republicans lost by 24 percent. He said he was glad all the canvassing, meet-and-greets and community events this year helped propel his team to victory.

"We did a lot of canvassing during the election," Saylor said. "We were very open to wanting to speak to voters. And that was the result."

Saylor said the race was the "easy part. Now we have a four-year commitment to do."

Finally, Saylor, who had been the one in charge of the Flip 4 PV campaign, said the important thing is for the community to come together at this point.

"We need to move the school district forward educationally, we need to move the school district forward emotionally," Saylor said.

Campli, one of the Democrats who lost, said that she is definitely disappointed in the results from Tuesday night.

"My biggest hope is that those who won work to fix the divisiveness that has eroded our community," Campli said in written comments to Patch Wednesday morning. "I also hope that the community shows up to meetings and makes sure that the board works for the students and not personal agendas."

McGuire, one of the other defeated Democrats, told Patch that his team was likely toppled by the Republicans because there was more of an overall GOP voter wave this year and that perhaps some Democratic fatigue also factored into play.

"More people came out to vote for them, and that is how you win elections," McGuire wrote to Patch. "It wasn't limited to School Board either, looking locally and nationally.

"If the vote was closer I might hypothesize on what we should have done better, but a margin like this was likely insurmountable this year, in this climate," McGuire continued. "The only thing to do now is dust off, take notes, thank supporters and move forward."