Palmyra Borough heatedly discusses Republican primary endorsements

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

The meeting of Palmyra Borough Council on April 22 had to be silenced with a gavel when it devolved into an argument after Mayor Tom Miller asked about the Lebanon County Republican Committee endorsements for the 2025 primary elections.

The LCRC endorsed current council members Marcus Riddell and Anthony Catalani, along with non-incumbents Denver Wilson and Tony Pearson, for the four available seats. Current council members Jim Tesche and Jane Quairoli — also registered Republicans — are running for reelection.

LCRC also endorsed mayoral candidate Kevin Yiengst, who is running against Miller. Miller was appointed to finish out the remainder of Fred Carpenter’s term after his retirement at the beginning of 2025.

Miller said he and other council members were not told that the committee would be making endorsements, and they were not given an opportunity to plead their case. He asked how the candidates heard about the endorsement and what the selection process was.

“I find it interesting the Republican group didn’t ask anybody,” Miller started. “They come up with these names, and I have no idea who they are. I know two of them that are on [the council].”

Catalani said the endorsements were accessible to any candidate on the ballot, and they just didn’t ask. He said it seemed like the questions from council were due to fear.

“If the people of Palmyra Borough would like to know, then they can come out on the Candidates Night and speak to them, and they can always reach out, and so we’ve put that out there,” Catalani said. “I didn’t know this would be like an interrogation because perhaps, are you scared or something?”

Quairoli said she served on the committee years ago, and they didn’t make endorsements during her time there. She said a different procedure should have taken place so more candidates could have been considered.

“What would have been appropriate, and the way things have been done in the past, is when a district is going to endorse you, invite all the candidates to speak, and then the voting is done on whether or not to endorse and then who to endorse,” Quairoli said. “If there was going to be an endorsement meeting at the district level, everybody should have been invited.” 

LCRC chairman Bill Bova, who wrote an editorial about these discussions happening at several meetings throughout the county, directed LebTown toward the committee’s bylaws. They were last amended in 2015.

Read More: [Letter] GOP chair calls out political discussions at government meetings

Section 3 of the bylaws outlines endorsement procedures. It states that for electoral districts that don’t cover the entire county, only committee members who would be entitled to vote in the primary or general election for that seat are allowed to vote in the endorsement process.

Miller called the endorsements “almost communist,” which Catalani pushed back against.

“Some people will take offense to that, and I don’t appreciate it,” Catalani replied.

The LCRC-endorsed candidates, including those for the Palmyra Area School District and county-wide races, will participate in a public Candidates Night on Monday. Catalani said other candidates could attend as members of the public, but the event is only for the endorsed individuals. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP online.

Beth Shearer gavelled the discussion quiet when it got especially personal, and told everyone to do their own research about each candidate.

“Do your own research,” Shearer said. “That way it’s not a ‘he said, she said’ — just do your own research.”

Mayors’ Park

The council also unanimously voted to establish the northeast corner of the intersection of West Main Street and North Lingle Avenue as Mayors’ Park. The park will be on 0.29 acres of land.

Read More: Palmyra to consider making corner of Lingle and Main intersection into a park

At the last meeting, borough manager Roger Powl said it would be too small for recreation, but it could be a space for some benches and shade trees.

Quairoli said she received a surprising amount of feedback regarding the park, with many people saying it’s unnecessary.

“Most of the residents that talk to me about it do not see it as a useful park,” she said. “There’s no parking, it’s a busy corner, it’s a lot of tractor-trailers. I have no problem with designating it a park and developing it somehow, but I’m just amazed I’ve had numerous residents contact me about it.”

She also said she doesn’t want to use any taxpayer money for the park’s development.

Powl said there’s space at the top of the hill for a few parking spaces. As for funding, he said they could get a written agreement from the Palmyra Garden Club that they would help with costs, and they could apply for a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant for financial support.

Tesche said designating the area as a park doesn’t mean the borough needs to put money into developing it. They can see what funding is available before making any decisions.

In other business, council:

• Approved a road closure request for the Palmyra Church of the Brethren picnic and carnival. Arch Street between North Chestnut Street and Hamilton Alley will be closed from 3 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 19.
• Voted to spend $5,000 to purchase two sewage grinder pumps at $2,500 each. The borough did not budget for it, so the money will come out of the special sewer fund.

Palmyra Borough Council will meet next at 325 S. Railroad St. on May 13 at 7 p.m. Meetings are streamed on the Palmyra Borough, Lebanon County Pennsylvania YouTube page.