Published: October 04, 2008 10:01 pm            

Beating the odds: Partisan edge no guarantee

Even the highest mountain can be climbed.

Minority party candidates have learned that lesson over the years in both Cambria and Somerset counties, where in some races voters’ verdicts have defied registration figures.

Cambria County’s two-to-one Democratic voters, for example, picked Republican George W. Bush in the presidential race four years ago.

In Republican-dominated Somerset County, two Democrats – Pamela Tokar-Ickes and John Vatavuk – now form the majority of the three-person board of commissioners.

And Cambria’s overwhelming Democratic majority did not stop Republicans from holding a majority on that county board twice in the past decade.

Republicans Kathy Holtzman and Mark Wissinger ruled the board from 1992 through 1995, and Holtzman and Dr. Fred Soisson were a GOP majority from 2000 through 2003.

And in the 1980s, Republicans Ted Metzger and W. Donald Templeton served as the majority with longtime Democratic Commissioner Joe Roberts.

Even in a Democratic stronghold such as Johnstown, some Republicans have been successful.

Longtime Republican Mayor Herb Pfuhl, who served from 1971-77 and from 1982-93, is a prime example.

In fact, Johnstown has a history of electing GOP mayors: From the early 1970s until August 2006, when Republican Don Zucco resigned, a Democrat held the mayoral seat for only four years.

Zucco served for 16 years as a councilman and as mayor. He said his longtime community ties – he had worked as a teacher, principal and superintendent at Greater Johnstown School District – helped him when it came time to run for city offices.

Plus, he had grown up in Johnstown’s West End.

“I had, I would say, a pretty good name recognition,” Zucco said.

But he also said Republican candidates in Johnstown can be successful if they put enough work into their campaigns.

“I spent a lot of time talking to folks about what was needed,” Zucco said. “A lot of it has to do with how you prepare yourself and how hard you work.”

He added that local political organizations do not exert the amount of influence they once did.

“Historically, the organizations were very powerful,” Zucco said. “But I don’t believe that’s the case anymore.”

From her perspective as a former Cambria commissioner, Republican Holtzman agrees.

“Things are getting better, and there are not as many straight-party voters,” she said. “Voters today are tending to vote for the person, not the political party.”

She also credits today’s voters with being more educated on the issues.

“I don’t believe that party officials have the power they used to have,” Holtzman said. “People make up their own minds, and voters now are not told what to do by any one person or organization.

“People are issue-driven when they make their choices, such as evaluating candidates on issues personally important to the voter, like gun control, veterans’ rights.”

The same theme resounds in Somerset County, where there also are exceptions to the party-majority rule.

Most notably are county commissioners Vatavuk, who is also the county’s Democratic Committee chairman, and Tokar-Ickes, who chairs the county board.

“I think people vote for the person instead of the party,” Vatavuk said. “That’s a lot of it.”

While registration undoubtedly plays a key role, plain old hard work cannot be discounted, Somerset County Republican Chairman Bruce Hottle said.

“In Somerset County and rural Cambria County, people like that door-to-door contact,” Hottle said. “The candidates that seem to do the best get out to all the church functions, the picnics, and actually meet the people.

“I’m not talking about fancy ads, billboards and putting up signs. It’s the one-on-one contact.”

Retiring State Rep. Tom Yewcic, a Democrat whose district spans parts of Cambria and Somerset counties, advises political observers never to underestimate the voters.

“I can tell you that Cambria County politics is strange, and during my time in office, given the right circumstances, yes, a minority-party candidate can win,” Yewcic said. “People look more toward the person than the party, and that’s why.”



Tribune-Democrat staff writers Mike Faher and Kirk Swauger contributed to this report.

        

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