Adams County commissioners: Phiel, Martin, Stokes, Qually to appear on November ballot

(Hanover) — Voters will see some familiar names on November’s ballot as three incumbents and a former commissioner face off for three open Adams County commissioner seats.

On the Republican side, incumbents Randy Phiel and Jim Martin respectively received 35 and 31 percent of their party’s 12,800 votes in the May 19 primary, according to unofficial results from the Adams County Elections and Voter Registration office.

They had faced off against fellow Republicans Jim Smith, David Bolton and Bruce Hollinger, who received 12, 11 and 9 percent of votes cast.

On the Democratic ballot, voters chose incumbent Marty Qually and former commissioner Harry Stokes over newcomer Paul Kellett. Stokes received 37 percent of the 7,093 votes cast, followed by Qually with 33 percent and Kellett with 28 percent.

Martin and Phiel campaigned together during the primary and said they plan to continue their partnership during the general election.

“Right now our objective is to stay on course with what we’re doing,” Martin said.

Phiel agreed, noting the commissioners successfully updated the county’s radio and computer systems and replaced its aging vehicle fleet. Phiel took Tuesday’s vote as a sign that residents appreciate the work he and his fellow board members have done so far.

If re-elected in November, Phiel and Martin said they hope to continue their current projects while maintaining fiscal responsibility, improving the county’s investment policies and looking into starting a licensed drug and alcohol treatment center for the prison.

Qually, the Democratic incumbent, also said he felt the outcome of Tuesday’s primary showed that voters appreciate what the current board is doing.

“They have faith in my style of government and the fact that I do my best to work well with people,” Qually said.

In addition to helping with the radio project, Qually also reached out to municipal leaders to better understand what they want from the county. If elected in November, he hopes to focus on increasing communication between residents and commissioners.

Stokes, if elected, would unseat one of the incumbent commissioners but would not be new to the board. He previously held the position from 1991 to 2004.

“One of the key reasons I decided to run was to bring some experience and some historical perspective into the way we run county government,” he said, noting he has more experience than the three incumbents combined.

His priorities, if elected, would be to pay down the county’s debts and develop a sound economic development plan. He hopes to accomplish these goals by focusing on the county’s agriculture and cutting back on costly top-level management positions.

Evening Sun reporter Chris Cappella contributed to this report.

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This article comes to us through a partnership between the Evening Sun and WITF.