Voters throughout Lackawanna County reshaped their local governments Tuesday as they cast their ballots on contested borough council and township supervisors seats across races in the Upvalley, Midvalley, Downvalley and North Pocono.

Nearly four dozen candidates vied for 28 council and supervisor seats in 13 races in 12 towns throughout the county, with a mix of incumbents retaining their positions and some new challengers ousting sitting council members and supervisors, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. In total, residents throughout the valley voted on contested municipal government races in Archbald, Clifton Twp., Fell Twp., Greenfield Twp., Jermyn, Jessup, Madison Twp., Old Forge, Olyphant, Spring Brook Twp., Taylor and Throop.

Council members serve four-year terms, and township supervisors serve six-year terms.

Midvalley

The Midvalley region saw contested council races in Archbald, Jessup, Olyphant and Throop.

Archbald: Five candidates sought three positions on council. Challenger Tom Aniska, a Democrat who also earned a Republican write-in nomination, was the highest vote-getter with 1,924 votes, followed by Republican challenger Louis J. Rapoch’s 1,559 votes and Democrat Marie Cooke Andreoli, who was first appointed to council in July 2024, with 1,492 votes, according to unofficial results. Democratic Councilman Francis Burke lost his bid for reelection with 1,268 votes, with Republican challenger Bruce Walder further trailing with 1,005 votes.

Jessup: The borough retained two incumbents while a third incumbent lost her reelection bid as five candidates contended for four seats on council. Democratic Councilman Gregg Betti earned the most votes in his reelection campaign with 1,261, followed by Democratic challenger Robbie Martin with 1,187, Democratic Councilman Thomas J. Fiorelli III with 1,100 and Democratic challenger Ronald Richard Kordish earning the fourth seat with 959 votes. Incumbent Roberta Pitoniak Galati, who lost her bid for a Democratic nomination in May but earned enough Republican write-in votes to appear on November’s ballot, will not serve another term after receiving 647 votes, according to unofficial results. Betti, Fiorelli and Martin all also earned Republican write-in nominations in May.

Olyphant: Voters had their choice of four candidates across three council seats. Democrat Eric Hartshorn secured the most votes with 1,068, followed closely by fellow Democrats Joseph Collarini with 1,050 votes and Councilman James Baldan with 1,030 votes. Republican Dave Mitchko trailed with 737 votes, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. Hartshorn and Collarini also earned Republican write-in nominations in May.

Throop: Six candidates faced off for four council seats; all three incumbents who ran will serve again. Democratic incumbent Vince Tanana, who also won a Republican write-in nomination in May, led with 871 votes, according to unofficial results. Democratic challenger Melissa Lokuta-Fazio followed with 856 votes, and incumbent Democrats Matthew Chorba, 834 votes, and Richard Kucharski, 831 votes, will also serve on council. Republican Jeanine Chomko Capman trailed with 599 votes, and John James Richardson, who ran under the “Rough and Ready” party, earned 311.

Upvalley

Lackawanna County’s Upvalley region saw contested races across Fell Twp., Greenfield Twp. and Jermyn.

Fell Twp.: In the board of supervisors race, incumbent Republican Supervisor Dale Ulmer beat Democratic challenger Gary Wetzel with 355 votes to Wetzel’s 310, according to unofficial results.

Greenfield Twp.: Voters narrowly selected Democrat Ron Jenkins with 410 votes to Republican Trevor Walczak’s 400 votes, according to unofficial results.

Jermyn: With three candidates vying for two council seats, incumbents prevailed. Incumbent Councilman Jeff Morcom, who earned both Democratic and Republican write-in nominations despite not appearing on the ballot in May’s primary election, received the most votes with 374, followed by fellow incumbent Councilwoman Bobbiann Davis, a Democrat, earning 336 votes. Republican challenger Douglas Bowman trailed with 210 votes, according to unofficial results.

Downvalley

Downvalley voters had their say in contested council races in Taylor and Old Forge.

Taylor: With the busiest race in the valley, seven candidates sought four seats in the borough, where three out of four incumbents in the race secured new terms. Despite a pool of incumbents, Democratic challenger Jeanie Sluck, who also won a Republican write-in nomination in May, saw the most support with 1,262 votes; incumbents Democrat John Fox — 1,189 votes, Democrat Kenneth F. Mickavicz — 1,083 votes, and Republican James Digwood — 1,036 votes, all won new terms, according to unofficial results. Democratic Councilman Dick Nezlo did not win reelection after earning 840 votes, followed by Republican challengers Edward J. Fortuna, 769 votes, and Roberta Crosby Bowman, 607 votes.

Old Forge: Borough voters had two contested council races, both for two-year expired terms. Both races had two candidates each, with incumbents losing to challengers in both races. Democratic challenger Charlene Chickey narrowly beat Republican Councilman James J. Hoover for a two-year term, edging him out with 1,393 votes to his 1,389, according to unofficial results. In the borough’s second contested race for a two-year term, Democrat Benny Pritchyk ousted Republican incumbent Allison Grevera, with 1,696 votes to Grevera’s 1,053, according to unofficial results.

North Pocono

The North Pocono region had contested supervisors races spanning Clifton, Madison and Spring Brook townships.

Clifton Twp.: In another close race, voters selected Democrat Matt Gruenloh with 202 votes over incumbent Republican Ted Stout, who received 198 votes, according to unofficial results.

Madison Twp.: Republican challenger Jason Canjar received 482 votes, defeating Democratic incumbent Andrew Nazarenko, who had 355 votes, according to unofficial results.

Spring Brook Twp.: The board of supervisors will remain unchanged in 2026 in a race where incumbents prevailed as four candidates sought two seats. Incumbent Republican Steven A. Slesh, who was the only candidate to appear on the ballot in May, led with 524 votes, followed by fellow incumbent William A. Herne, who won both Democratic and Republican nominations through write-ins in May after not appearing on the ballot, with 446 votes, according to unofficial results. The incumbents defeated Democratic challenger Joseph Vernoski, who had 375 votes, and independent Ken Genovese, who had 263 votes.