City Controller Alan Butkovitz arrives at a post election celebration at the Palm restaurant in Center City Tuesday after Butkovitz was re-elected. (Brad Larrison)
In a surprisingly lopsided outcome, City Controller Alan Butkovitz won the three-way Democratic primary election on Tuesday night.
Unofficial returns from 95.73 percent of divisions showed that Butkovitz was winning 61 percent of the vote.
Brett Mandel was taking 31 percent.
Mark Zecca had 8 percent.
Butkovitz, a Castor Gardens resident, is seeking his third four-year term. He was first elected in 2005 after serving 15 years as a state representative.
In 2009, Butkovitz survived a tough, three-way primary with Mandel and John Braxton.
Mandel, a former director of financial and policy analysis under Controller Jonathan Saidel, raised a good bit of money for the rematch, but never seemed to gain the traction he had in ‘09.
In addition, the low turnout benefited Butkovitz, who had the support of the party and unions.
In the general election, Butkovitz will face Republican Terry Tracy.
If Butkovitz wins, talk will start to swirl about a possible mayoral run in 2015.
In other races, the party-endorsed candidates were faring very well.
In the race for six seats on Common Pleas Court, winners were Timika Lane, Joe Fernandes, Anne Marie Coyle, Dan McCaffery and Giovanni Campbell.
Fernandes, of Somerton, and McCaffery, of East Torresdale, were backed by the party.
Coyle, of the Far Northeast, is a Republican who did not have the party nod, but she benefited from the top ballot spot.
The final spot is up for grabs. Sierra Thomas Street leads Dawn Tancredi, the attorney representing neighbors opposed to a methadone clinic at Frankford Avenue and Decatur Street, by 489 votes.
In the Democratic primary for three seats on Municipal Court, party-backed Martin Coleman and Henry Lewandowski were runaway winners. Judge Fran Shieds, a Lawndale resident appointed to the bench last July by Gov. Tom Corbett, pulled away from Tracy Roman for the third slot.
In the Democratic primary for three Traffic Court seats, party-backed Omar Sabir, Donna DeRose and Marnie Aument-Loughery won handily. DeRose, of Fox Chase, had a strong showing despite being listed next to last on the ballot.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams was unopposed in the Democratic primary. So was Republican Danny Alvarez, a lawyer from Somerton.
Statewide, in the Democratic primary for a Superior Court seat, Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Jack McVay defeated Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Joe Waters, a former police captain and the party-endorsed candidate.
McVay trailed much of the night, but burst into the lead when votes were counted in the western part of the state. He topped Waters, 55 percent to 45 percent, with 98.91 percent of the votes counted.
Republican Vic Stabile, a Harrisburg-area attorney, was unopposed.••
