ALLENTOWN – There will be a contested race for two three-year terms on the Allentown Borough Council in the Nov. 3 election.
The terms of the council seats currently held by John A. Elder III and Angela Anthony will end on Dec. 31.
Robert H. Schmitt Jr. ran in the Democratic primary on July 7 and secured a spot on the Nov. 3 ballot. Unofficial results as of July 22 showed Schmitt with 176 votes. He was the only candidate running under the banner of a political party.
No other Democrats and no Republicans filed a nominating petition to seek a council seat.
The unofficial results showed there were 14 write-in votes cast in the Democratic primary, but election officials had not yet reported on who received those votes and/or if anyone would gain the second ballot spot available to Democrats.
Schmitt served on the council from 2014-09. He lost his bid for a third consecutive council term in the 2019 general election.
The unofficial results showed there were five write-in votes cast in the Republican primary, but election officials had not yet reported on who received those votes and/or if anyone would gain a ballot spot available to Republicans.
The results of the primary election will not be official until they are certified by county election personnel.
County officials reported that three Allentown residents each filed a nominating petition to run for the council as independent candidates: Elder, Linda Cotte and Erica Torsiello.
Elder is completing his first term on the council, having joined the governing body in January 2018.
Cotte has been a resident of Allentown since 1998. She ran for a council seat in 2018.
The Borough Council has six members. In addition to Elder and Anthony, the 2020 council includes Robert Strovinsky, Michael Drennan, Martha Johnson and Dan Payson.