Dengler Drops Out of PASD School Board Race

And then there were five—but most likely, not for long.

There are five open seats up for grabs on the Phoenixville Area School Board, and with one candidate withdrawing, there are now five candidates. However, it’s not that simple, as both parties get to pick a replacement.

The Chester County Department of Voter Services confirmed that Leslie Dengler has filed papers to withdraw from the race for a spot on the Phoenixville Area School District Board of Directors.

The law in Pennsylvania states that school board candidates can cross-file, appearing on both parties’ ballots in the primary election. In the May municipal primary election, Dengler was chosen by both Democrats and Republicans to appear on the general election ballot.

She garnered 470 votes from Democrats in the primary and 700 votes from Republicans. In both cases, she won the fourth highest number of votes and would have appeared on the general election ballot in the fall.

Incumbents Paul Slaninka and David Ziev are joined by Irfan Khan, Kevin Pattinson and Kenneth Butera as the remaining candidates. Ziev, Pattinson and Butera all won on both the Democrat and Republican tickets, while Slaninka was the highest vote getter on the Republican ballot in the primary and Khan was selected to represent Democrats in the general election.

According to Zach Weaver of the county Department of Voter Services, because Dengler won on both parties’ ballots, the county Democrats and county Republicans will receive notice that she withdrew and have an opportunity to choose a replacement.

“We have to send a letter for a substitute nomination to both parties,” Weaver said.

The letter will be sent out Monday, according to Weaver, and the county parties may choose to pass the letter along to the local Democrat and Republican committees in the Phoenixville area.

The parties have until Aug. 25 to choose their replacements for Dengler, who could not be reached for comment. 

According to past reports, a similar situation occurred in the 2009 municipal election, when four seats were open on the Phoenixville Area School Board. One candidate withdrew after being chosen in the primary, and the Democratic Party was notified and chose a replacement candidate to appear on the ballot.

The general election will take place Nov. 8.

Here are the official results of the primary, held in May:

Democrat

School Director-Phoenixville; Vote for not more than five

Kenneth Butera  672 votes (21.71%)

Irfan A. Khan  530 votes (17.12%)

Kevin Pattinson  520 votes (16.80% )

Leslie A. Dengler  470 votes (15.18%)

David H. Ziev  440 votes (14.21%

Paul R. Slaninka  423 votes (13.66%)

Write-in  41 votes (1.32%)

Republican

School Director-Phoenixville; Vote for not more than five

Paul R. Slaninka  749 votes (16.14%)

Kenneth Butera  729 votes (15.70%)

David H. Ziev  728 votes (15.68%)

Leslie A. Dengler  700 votes (15.08%)

Kevin Pattinson  693 votes (14.93%)

Kyle Shirkness  634 votes (13.66%)

Irfan A. Khan  399 votes (8.60%)

Write-in 10 votes (0.22%)