Democrats win commissioners race, retain control of Bucks County government

Early returns in the heated race for the Bucks County Board of Commissioners favor a return to office of Democratic Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia and Bob Harvie, and of incumbent Republican Gene DiGirolamo.

If the current trend continues, the Democrats will retain control of the board, with DiGirolamo coming in third and keeping his minority party position on the board, according to unofficial results.

The Democrats declared victory Tuesday night.

"This is an amazing honor and I will continue to take care of this amazing and beautiful county," an elated Marseglia said Tuesday night at the Democratic campaign party at the Barley Sheaf Inn in Buckingham.

Both Commissioner Chairman Harvie and Marseglia faced strong criticism at the commissioner meetings each month from a vocal Republican group of residents, many of whom had ties to the issues in the Central Bucks School District.

In campaign ads, Republicans also alleged Harvie had ties to unions and Philadelphia-style politics, but the nasty ads appeared to backfire when unions protested the criticism. They also based their campaign on tackling a rise in crime which the Democrats dispute has risen.

And Marseglia and Harvie campaigned hard, touting the commissioner board's accomplishments over the past four years while dealing with the pandemic.

They began construction on a new government services center for Lower Bucks as well as planning a treatment facility to keep persons with mental health issues out of prison and intreatment. They also increased the number of co-responders sent out with police to help quell domestic and other issues before they lead to violence or other criminal behavior. And they put federal stimulus dollars to use helping families avoid foreclosures, increasing spending on tourism and fixing county bridges and other infrastructure, the campaign said.

Marseglia has been a commissioner since first being elected in 2007.

She will be starting her fifth term on the board which runs the county government and controls its budget. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware and holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked for 20 years as a clinical social worker before becoming a commissioner, where her priorities have been in providing social services to residents in need as well as those with mental or physical disabilities. She resides in Middletown.

Harvie taught history and chaired the Social Studies Department at the Bucks County Institute of Technology in Bristol Township for more than 20 years and chaired the Falls Township supervisors board for 12 years before running for county commissioner. He is a graduate of George Washington University magna cum laude and holds a master's degree in education from Holy Family University.

He has also served as the commissioners' representative on the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the Regional Finance Authority and worked with other suburban counties on a joint partnership to purchase electricity more economically and to reduce greenhouse emissions.

DiGirolamo who has had long legislative experience, having served as a state representative from Bensalem for 25 years. He served as chair of the House Human Services Committee and has long fought for services for the disabled and for drug prevention and treatment before being elected a county commissioner in 2019. In 2016, the American Medical Association awarded him its highest honor for service by a government official.

Van Blunk is an attorney who won office as the county controller, a job she will retain if not elected to the commissioner board. She earned her bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and her law degree from Widener University's Delaware School of Law.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Democrats keep majority on Bucks County commissioner board