B-W Democrats Endorse School Board and Whitehall Council Candidates

CLARIFICATION: Read posted on Tuesday night regarding the Baldwin Borough Democratic Committee's involvement with Monday's meeting.

The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch was denied access to a joint meeting of the Baldwin Borough, Baldwin Township and Whitehall Borough democratic committees at the at 8 p.m. on Monday.

The intention of the meeting, according to a letter sent to members of the three aforementioned committees and to democratic candidates for Baldwin-Whitehall school board seats, was to officially endorse school-board candidates, but as it turns out, candidates for the Council of the Borough of Whitehall were also endorsed Monday night.

Early Tuesday afternoon, Martin Michael Schmotzer, chair of the Whitehall Borough Democratic Committee and a member of the Baldwin-Whitehall school board, faxed results of Monday's meeting to the B-W Patch.

Schmotzer's fax shows that the three democratic committees jointly endorsed Sam DiNardo Jr. for a two-year school-board seat and Kevin J. Fischer, Diana Kazour, Larry Pantuso, Laurencine Romack and Ray Rosing for four-year school-board seats.

Paul Hayhurst Sr., who identified himself as the chairman of the "committee to build a better board," informed the B-W Patch earlier on Monday that five candidates for B-W school board seats – Lora J. Kalwarski, Marion M. Shannon, Richard J. Kirsch, Tracy Macek and Kevin A. Stiffey – would not be attending Monday night's meeting due to prior commitments.

Hayhurst said that Kalwarski, Shannon, Kirsch, Macek and Stiffey are part of the aforementioned "better board" committee and that those candidates received the aforementioned letter on Thursday, March 31, inviting them to the meeting.

Hayhurst said that that was not enough time for those candidates to rework their schedules.

You can view that letter here. (Use your Web browser's zoom function to allow for easier reading. You can also see the letter in the photo gallery of .)

According to the Allegheny County Assessment website, the address at the bottom of the letter is Schmotzer's residence.

The Whitehall Borough Democratic Committee officially endorsed Harold Berkoben, Helen DelSardo and Philip Lahr for four-year seats on the Whitehall Borough Council.

The Baldwin-Whitehall area will see races for school-board and borough/township positions in May 17 primary elections.