Dearth of council candidates will plague Cheswick primary election

Cheswick voters might be surprised at the number of candidates for council when they enter the voting booth on Tuesday.

Only two people — Republican incumbents Michael Girardi and Brad Yaksich — are running for four open seats.

Three four-year seats and one two-year seat are up for election.

Councilman Bob Kristof and Guila Holtman are not running for re-election on the seven-member council.

Girardi is running for both a four-year and the two-year seat. Yaksich is running for a four-year seat.

David Voye, division manager for the Allegheny County Elections Office, said in cases where there are not enough people running for a seat, 10 write-in votes are needed for a candidate to appear on the November ballot.

In a case where there’s one seat and two write-in candidates, the candidate who received the most votes would win.

In Girardi’s case, he could win nomination and appear on the general election ballot for both seats. When the council reorganizes, Girardi would then choose which seat he would accept. The other seat would be vacant and need to be filled by an appointment.