EAST SHORE VOTERS GUIDE: Harrisburg mayor
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News
The choice for mayor of Harrisburg is Reed vs. Reed.
Mayor Stephen R. Reed locked down nominations on both sides of the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election, giving him a virtual stranglehold on four more years in office.
Reed, 55, is seeking his seventh term in office, but all the competition came in last spring's primary.
Facing rivals Jason Smith and Ernie Napoli, Reed won the Democratic nomination with 3,093 votes, compared with Smith's 1,033 and Napoli's 182.
Reed typically mounts an aggressive Republican write-in campaign as well in order to lock up the election early. He won the GOP nod with 640 write-in votes, making him the only state mayoral candidate supported by both major parties.
Reed said that allows him to move away from campaigning and turn his attention to city business, where he promises numerous projects are on tap.
The six-term incumbent has sewn up both major sides of the ballot in the Harrisburg mayor's race in five consecutive elections.
JOHN LUCIEW: 255-8171 or
jluciew@patriot-news.com