Drexel upsets Shank in Erie County Council race; Scutella, Copeland, Schauerman score wins

Democrat Chris Drexel defeated Republican incumbent Brian Shank in a major upset Tuesday night, giving Democrats a powerful 5-2 majority on Erie County Council.

Drexel, 50, a district sales manager at Wireless Zone, a Verizon authorized retailer, unseated Shank, 59, who serves as council chairman and who was seeking a second term as 5th district council member.

The 5th District covers Greene, Harborcreek, North East and Summit townships.

Drexel recorded 5,882 votes to Shank's 5,207 votes for a margin of 53% to 46% out of 11,089 votes cast, according to the final unofficial results that county election officials recorded at 11:23 p.m. on Tuesday. The tally includes 3,148 mail-in ballots ― of which, Drexel received 2,743 compared to Shank's 675.

Drexel, who attended an election night party at Calimari's Squid Row in Erie, said he was "super excited" about the results and thanked his supporters for their hard work and the opportunity to serve.

"This is a big win for Erie," he told the Erie Times-News. "I think we have an opportunity to transform County Council and county government and put some checks and balances back in there so we can have more transparency and accountability."

Drexel, who had criticized Shank during the campaign for focusing more on the wants of Erie County Executive Brenton Davis than the will of his constituents, pledged to be a greater check on executive power.

"I will not be swayed by the county executive nor will I simply endorse everything proposed by Brenton Davis," Drexel told the Times-News in an earlier interview. "Instead, I will actively represent the concerns and ideas of my constituents at the voting table, ensuring their voices are heard."

Shank could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday night.

Shank was elected to council in 2019 after narrowly defeating Democrat Kyle Foust by 158 votes.

Scutella, Copeland and Schauerman cruise to victory

In other races, incumbent Democrat Terry Scutella defeated Republican challenger Cody Foust, 6,130 to 4,207 votes, for the 1st District seat, which covers the bulk of Millcreek Township.

Scutella, 74, was appointed to council in late 2021 after his predecessor, Kim Clear, became a Millcreek Township supervisor. His win Tuesday marks his first electoral victory of the seat.

In the 3rd district ― the only race without an incumbent ― Democrat Rock Copeland defeated Republican Kim Hunter, 4,900 to 2,898 votes. The seat, which represents parts of Millcreek Township and the city of Erie, had been vacated by Democrat Mary Rennie who resigned in July. It’s been temporarily filled by Democrat Tom Spagel.

Copeland, 39, said it was "incredible" to see such a large turnout of voters support him.

"I've been blessed by the people who've coalesced around me and supported me," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting to work. I was just talking to Chris Drexel. Neither of us are going to show up in January as just the newbies on the block. We're going to know what we're doing and what the game plan is."

In the 7th district, which covers the southwestern portion of the county, incumbent Republican Ellen Schauerman defeated Democratic challenger Lorraine Dolan, 4,888 to 3,803 votes. Independent Rita Bishop trailed with 1,049 votes.

Council's political makeup in 2024 will consist of Democrats Scutella, Andre Horton, Copeland, Jim Winarski and Drexel, and Republicans Charlie Bayle and Schauerman.

Council members serve four-year terms on a part-time basis. The council chairperson will earn $13,344 annually while the other six members will earn $11,799 annually, according to the proposed 2024 county budget.

Candidates discuss the issues: Erie County Council: Municipal election race includes these nine candidates on the ballot

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Drexel upsets Shank in Erie County Council race