With all precincts partially reporting, unofficial results of the 2021 Municipal Elections in Centre County show Democrat Ezra Nanes elected mayor for the State College Borough as the sole candidate on the ballot.
In the race for three open seats on the State College Borough Council, Democratic candidate Gopal Balachandran leads with 2,603 votes, followed by Divine Lipscomb and Richard Biever, who are also Democrats, with more than 2,400 votes each. Republican Jacob Werner has more than a thousand votes.
Two Democratic and two Republican candidates competed for two at-large seats on the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors in Centre County. Democratic incumbent Lisa Strickland has 2,918 votes; Democrat Tierra Williams, who ran on a campaign of transparency and accountability for local leaders including police, has 2,409 votes. Republican Patti Higgins, who criticized the board’s handling and adoption of a stormwater management fee, 2,111; and Jeremie Thompson, 1,564.
Six candidates are competing for four seats on the State College Area School Board. Cross-filed candidates Peter Buck and Deborah Anderson lead the race with more than 10,000 votes each. Democrats Carline Crevecoeur and Jackie Huff follow closely with around 9,900 votes. Republican Michelle Glenn Young, endorsed by a political action committee which opposes critical race theory, has 6,996 votes. Incumbent David Hutchinson has 5,539.
Six candidates were competing for four seats on the Bellefonte Area Board of School Directors. Cross-filed candidate Andrea Royer has the most votes with 5,117. Incumbent Jeff Steiner, also cross-filed, is second with 4,996. Republican candidates Jack Bechdel and Jon Guizar followed with around 4,600 votes. Democratic candidates Rodney Musser, an incumbent, and Jordan Emely, appear to have lost with 2,155 and 2,098 respectively.
Voters in Blair County cast ballots on declaring their municipalities so-called “Second Amendment Sanctuaries.” Countywide voters approved the measure by a three-to-one margin that says taxpayer resources won’t be used to enforce legislation passed after election day that would “infringe upon an eligible citizen’s right to bear arms.” Voters also weighed in a second referendum at the municipal level. All of the 24 municipalities, including the City of Altoona, voted yes.
