DV Journal

Democrat Melissa Cerrato gave a victory tweet Wednesday, declaring that she won the 151st District House seat over longtime Republican state Rep. Todd Stephens.

“I’ve spent months reminding voters of the importance of their votes & assuring them that EVERY SINGLE VOTE MATTERS. Now that the count has officially turned in our favor, it is my great honor to step forward as the next State Representative of Pennsylvania’s 151st House District,” Cerrato tweeted.

Cerrato won by 37 votes.

Stephens conceded on Thursday.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime representing the people of the 151st District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the last 12 years,” said Stephens. He noted that the new district was drawn with only 36 percent Republicans and that the top of the 2022 ticket had a gubernatorial candidate who received only 29 percent of the vote.

” I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Melissa Cerrato on being elected state representative for the 151st District. I look forward to working with her in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

“Though I am disappointed that I won’t be returning to Harrisburg to serve the community where I was born, raised and am raising my family, I am proud of my accomplishments including creating a program to ensure we have safe, clean drinking water, improving our child protection laws, vaccinating thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing record-setting education funding for our schools without raising taxes and writing the most comprehensive animal protection law in the country. I’ll certainly look back at my time as your state representative with pride,” Stephens said.

In Bucks County, Republican Joseph Hogan defeated Democrat Mark Moffa in the race to fill newly-elected GOP state Sen. Frank Farry’s seat. However, the close contest might be headed to court and control of the state House is still up in the air.

The Bucks County election website had Hogan at 15,418 votes to Moffa’s 15,394 on Wednesday.

“In the normal course of ensuring the results of last week’s election are accurate and complete, Board of Elections staff discovered Friday that some in-person votes–including some ballots cast in a voting precinct within the 142nd Pennsylvania House District–were not included in the county’s reported unofficial election results,” said Bucks County spokesman James O’Malley.

While neither Hogan nor Moffa responded to requests for comment, a spokesman for the House Republicans said it was still too soon to call the race because the Bucks County Democrats want ballots without signatures and dates to be included, so a judge will likely decide. Bucks County officials are also facing criticism for permitting ballot harvesting from nursing homes.

The majority is 102 seats,” said Republican spokesman David Foster. “If Stephens ultimately loses, but Hogan wins, we’re at 101 to 101 with the seat of the late Democratic Rep. DeLuca being the deciding vote. But that election won’t happen until March at the earliest, May at the latest. If Stephens and Hogan pull it out, we’re ahead 102-101.”

“That’s why we delayed our leadership election until next week,” Foster said.

However, Democrats are not hesitating.

They have already declared victory and elected Rep. Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) as the new House Speaker.

While it appears that Bucks County Republican Joseph Hogan has bested Democrat Mark Moffa for the 142nd state House district, the seat vacated by Frank Farry, who was just elected to the state Senate, the close contest might be headed to court.

And control of the state House remains up in the air.

The Bucks County website had Hogan at 15,418 votes to Moffa’s 15,394 on Wednesday.

Bucks County spokesman James O’Malley said, “In the normal course of ensuring the results of last week’s election are accurate and complete, Board of Elections staff discovered Friday that some in-person votes – including some ballots cast in a voting precinct within the 142nd Pennsylvania House District – were not included in the county’s reported unofficial election results.”

Bucks officials have also faced criticism for permitting ballots “harvested” from nursing homes to be included in the count.

While neither Hogan nor Moffa responded to requests for comment, a spokesman for the House Republicans said it was still too soon to call the race because the Bucks County Democrats want ballots without signatures and dates to be included so a judge will likely decide.

In neighboring Montgomery County, Democratic challenger Melissa Cerrato has edged ahead of longtime Republican state Rep. Todd Stephens by 37 votes, but more votes remain to be counted in this razor-thin contest.

Kelly Cofrancisco, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County, said, “Fifty-nine provisional ballots that are subject to the hearing scheduled for Friday.”

“The majority is 102 seats,” said Republican spokesman David Foster.  “If Stephens ultimately loses, but Hogan wins, we’re at 101 to 101 with the seat of the late Democratic Rep. DeLuca being the deciding vote.  But that election won’t happen until March at the earliest, May at the latest.  If Stephens and Hogan pull it out, we’re ahead 102-101.”

“That’s why we delayed our leadership election until next week,” Foster said.

However, Democrats are not that shy.

They have already declared victory and elected Rep. Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) the House Speaker.

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Joe Hogan is in his last year at Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law, and he says there is no better time to run for the Pennsylvania House. He is a Republican candidate for the 142nd Legislative District seat being vacated by GOP state Rep. Frank Farry, who is running for state Senate.

“These opportunities don’t come all that often,” said Hogan, who turned 34 last month.

Farry, first elected to the district in 2008, is running to replace retiring state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bensalem).

And so, after years of working for the late Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) and as a program director at Bucks County’s redevelopment authority, Hogan hopes to enter public service, representing the Langhorne-area district of about 65,000 constituents.

“Frank Farry has done an excellent job being present. He’s out in the community. Everyone knows who he is,” Hogan said. “You gotta show up, and you gotta be responsive to your constituents. If I can make their lives a little bit easier dealing with state government, then I’ll be a happy camper.”

Hogan grew up in Levittown and attended Conwell-Egan Catholic High School. He lives with wife Janita in Langhorne. He expects to be challenged for the seat by Penndel Borough Councilman Mark Maffa, a Democrat who lost both mayoral and council races last year.

Hogan has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn State University and spent most of his career in community and economic development. In 2010, he lost a primary race for a seat in the 141st House District to Kevin Glasson.

At the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County, he learned how to navigate the “legal gray area” of a blight-reduction project in Bristol Township that led to the restoration of “hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes” to the municipal rolls from former nuisance properties. And the authority helped pump millions to municipalities in Parx Casino impact grants through a program Tomlinson helped create that pays for brick-and-mortar projects, like upgrades to aging municipal infrastructure and the purchase of fire trucks and police tasers.

Joe Hogan

Hogan spent time helping Ukrainian refugees who escaped to Poland amid President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a global crisis that helped gas prices soar to record highs.

Americans are feeling the pinch, as fuel and food are more expensive because of the “supply-chain crisis,” Hogan said.

“I’m seeing firsthand what absent American leadership can do to the world’s stage, how it can impact human lives,” he said.

A lifelong Republican with an independent streak, Hogan does not “agree with towing the party line on every issue,” but strives for steady, consistent leadership.

“People out there are more interested in getting more Twitter followers or getting on the talk shows than they are governing,” Hogan said. “They’re not paying us to be showmen that are just going to get more impressions on social media.”

Sixth District Senate Race

Running for office was not on Ann Marie Mitchell’s “to-do list,” but she is doing it anyway.

The married mother of two and onetime state representative candidate comes from a working-class family and was the first person in her family to graduate from college.

The longtime Northampton Township resident is running against Farry for the Sixth District seat because a divided Harrisburg needs healing and compromise, a skill she’s crafted over decades as a business attorney.

“I see a need in the community that isn’t answered. You have to be prepared to do the work yourself,” the Democrat said. “I think that it’s easy for people to run when the wind is at their back and everything is in their favor. The measure of a person is to do the work when the work’s needed and not when it’s easy.”

Nothing has come easy for Mitchell, who endured a turbulent upbringing to make the most of her opportunities.

Her father, a World War II survivor, came to America as a teenager, became an electrician, and ran his own business. Her mother was a teacher who also worked as a bookkeeper to help the family make it financially.

Growing up, Mitchell experienced domestic violence in her household and “knows firsthand the impact” of generational trauma.

“It informs who you are, and overcoming it depends on how you’re hardwired,” she said. “Some people can become very empathic, and some people can come out very hardened. You see people who are very resilient come out of horrible situations.”

Mitchell’s mother instilled in her the desire for community service, as she started out as a Girl Scout and Candy Striper. Education was also paramount in her family.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Her mother went back and graduated from college at 50, around the same time Mitchell received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

“It opens up a whole different world,” Mitchell said of her experiences, which inform her platform revolving around creating clean energy, advocating for increased mental health awareness and support, and increasing access to affordable healthcare.

The latter was her focus when running against state Rep. Wendi Thomas (R-Richboro).

“I am nothing but real,” Mitchell said. “I am more about collaboration, cooperation, and finding the commonalities for jumping off. People can reach consensus, and you sometimes have to lean into difficult conversations.”