LCRC-endorsed candidates in Palmyra win big in council, school board races

Candidates endorsed by the Lebanon County Republican Committee won big in the Palmyra primary elections, according to unofficial county election results.

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In the Palmyra Borough Council elections, all candidates ran on the Republican ticket. Committee-endorsed candidates Denver Wilson (383 votes), incumbent Anthony Catalani (363 votes), incumbent Marcus Riddell (398 votes), and Tony Pearson (464 votes) were the candidates to bring in the most support.

Incumbents Jane Quairoli and Jim Tesche failed to secure their party’s nomination, with 348 and 317 votes, respectively.

Catalani said he was happy with the council’s primary results and looks forward to “following through on the promises” they made.

“[The results] are just positive and uplifting — feeling blessed to be part of the town of Palmyra Borough, very lucky to live in the town, and for the residents to believe in all of us,” he said. “We promise to work with the people, keep taxes low, and cut the spending.”

Despite council seats flipping, the Palmyra mayor will stay the same. Incumbent Tom Miller, who was appointed to finish out Fred Carpenter’s term after his resignation, beat out LCRC-endorsed candidate Kevin Yiengst with 389 votes compared to 316.

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Miller didn’t say much about his own primary win on Tuesday night, instead focusing on losing candidates Quairoli and Tesche. He said the results were “sad, sad news.”

“I’m just not happy that the other folks didn’t get elected,” he said.

He said he would have more to say about the results later.

Palmyra school board results were similar, with LCRC-endorsed candidates Seth Steinmetz (1,611 votes), Shane Arrigoni (1,404 votes), Cynthia Spondello (1,618 votes), and Corey Andrew (1,622 votes) securing their positions on the Republican ballot to advance to the general election.

Benjamin Weaber and Christine Fisher cross-filed, so they appeared on both the Democratic and Republican tickets. Weaber earned 957 votes, and Fisher earned 1,024 votes from the Democratic ballots. They got 1,177 votes and 1,213 votes, respectively, from the Republican ballots.

Candidate Joshua Brinser, who was not endorsed by the committee and did not cross-file, got 1,355 votes from Republican ballots.

Palmyra voters said taxes were a main issue when deciding who to vote for.

At the end of 2024, the council approved a 22.5% tax increase to close a budget shortfall of over $600,000.

The school district hasn’t approved its final budget for the 2025-26 school year. On May 8, the board approved a proposed final budget with a steady tax rate of 18.1532 mills.

Deborah Fisher voted at the Palmyra North voting precinct in the ShadowStone Community Center. She said she’s only been in Palmyra for a few weeks and took the time to learn about each of the candidates before making her decision. She didn’t share who she voted for but said several different issues informed her decision.

“Taxes, what I have heard about various personalities in the papers,” she said. “We did have a meeting in here the other day — not discussing individuals, but we did discuss some ideas, so it was helpful as a newbie.”

Kathy Nissley has lived in the borough for over 30 years and said taxes are especially important to her because of her age. She said she shows up to every election, whether it’s a large presidential race or a small municipality primary. She also did not share who she voted for.

“It’s important to hold the line on taxes, and because I am getting old and it’s more expensive to live with the taxes,” Nissley said after voting. “It was important for me to come out just because my voice needs to be heard.”

The primary winners will advance to the general election on Nov. 4.