Lazarus Wins Superior Court Seat

Anne E. Lazarus of Philadelphia has officially won the fourth Superior Court seat open in the Nov. 3 election. The seat was subject to a recount when four candidates finished election night with vote totals within a half percent of each other. When an election is that close an automatic recount is triggered unless the trailing candidate, or in this case candidates, agree to waive the recount. Judge Robert J. Colville and Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Kevin McCarthy agreed to waive the recount but Mt. Lebanon attorney Temp Smith did not. The recount resulted in slightly different numbers than were seen election night bit it did not change the ultimate outcome. The list of candidates, in order of total votes, is as follows:

-- Judy Olson: 954,065
-- Sallie Mundy: 870,091
-- Paula Ott: 807,327
-- Anne E. Lazarus: 726,917
-- Robert J. Colville: 724,830
-- Temp Smith: 723,117
-- Kevin Francis McCarthy: 714,237
-- Teresa Sarmina: 690,682
-- Marakay Rogers: 127,492

The top four vote getters will be added to the court in January. This is the first time the law passed in 2004 triggered a recount in all 67 counties. Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes says a variety of factors contributed to minor differences between the vote totals calculated in the recount and those reported in unofficial returns, most notably absentee ballots, military overseas ballots and provisional ballots. He says, "I am encouraged that the state's first recount confirmed the election was conducted in a fair and accurate manner."

The final cost of the recount will not be known until all counties submit requests for payment.