Words of appreciation: Democrat Sarah DelRicci conceded the race a little after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night at the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 14. She was joined on stage by her husband, John (left). MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTO
Republican Martina White overcame a voter registration disadvantage on Tuesday to win a special election in the 170th Legislative District.
The election was not as close as many predicted.
Returns from 58 of the 59 divisions in the district gave White 3,506 votes to 2,681 for Democrat Sarah DelRicci. That’s a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent.
White declared victory at Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, joined on stage by state Rep. John Taylor and FOP president John McNesby.
“I’m extremely excited,” she said. “I couldn’t be more grateful for all the support from the neighborhoods, labor unions and people.”
DelRicci conceded the race a little after 9:30 p.m. at the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 14.
“We fought the good fight,” she told supporters. “I appreciate your sacrifices. It means the world to me.”
The district includes Bustleton, Somerton, Parkwood and other Far Northeast neighborhoods. Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of 2 to 1.
The seat was vacant because Democrat Brendan Boyle resigned in January before becoming a member of Congress. Boyle ran for both seats last year, though he was unopposed for the state House seat.
Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai called for a special election on March 24, and Republicans believed they had a good chance because their voters typically show up for special elections more than Democrats.
“The idea was to get our voters to the polls, and we did that,” said White, who knocked on 6,000 doors.
The GOP quickly backed White, a 26-year-old financial adviser who used to live in Somerton and now resides in Parkwood.
Democrats John DelRicci and Seth Kaplan sought their party’s nod, with DelRicci the favorite of ward leaders. However, he backed out because he would have had to resign from his job with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, losing medical coverage.
Ward leaders Mike McAleer and Mike Stack, the lieutenant governor, chose Sarah DelRicci, 34, a Parkwood resident, executive director of the Parkwood Therapeutic Riding Center and wife of John DelRicci.
Kaplan planned to run as an independent, but did not file.
While Republicans were united, Democrats were divided over the choice of candidates for special elections in the 170th and the 5th Senatorial District, which Stack held before becoming lieutenant governor.
White’s win could inspire Republicans to put up a strong challenge to state Rep. John Sabatina Jr., the Democratic nominee in the Senate race.
White won in both the 58th and 66th wards. She watched results come in at the FOP with family, McNesby, Taylor, City Councilman Denny O’Brien and former state Rep. George Kenney, who held the 170th district seat for 24 years before declining to run again. Boyle took the seat in 2008.
“It’s about building trust and being accountable to the taxpayers and the people of the Northeast,” she said. “The message we provided for the entire campaign was consistent.”
White and DelRicci shared union support, but it seemed the labor that was with White was more effective in bringing out their voters. The police and firefighter unions, which have a lot of active and retired members in the 170th, were with White.
Among those celebrating White’s win were state Rep. Tom Murt, city elections commissioner Al Schmidt, former City Councilman Jack Kelly and former state House Speaker John Perzel.
White joins Taylor and Murt as the only Republicans in the Philadelphia House delegation, with Murt representing a largely eastern Montgomery County district. Republicans will hold a commanding 120–83 advantage in the House, with Democrats seeming to be hopelessly in the minority at least until redistricting in 2022.
White will also become the first Northeast woman to serve in the House since Republican Fran Weston left in 1990.
White is not sure when she will take office. She’ll need to hire staff, undergo orientation and open a local office.
“I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can for the neighborhoods in the Northeast out in Harrisburg,” she said.
White said she appreciated DelRicci’s phone call to concede and congratulate her.
Among those at DelRicci’s headquarters were Stack, Sabatina, ward leader John Sabatina Sr., mayoral candidate Anthony Williams, state Rep. Mike Driscoll, former City Controller Jonathan Saidel and former state Sen. Bob Rovner.
DelRicci, a married mother of three, thanked ward leaders, union bosses and others who supported her campaign, including former Gov. and Mayor Ed Rendell, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, state Reps. Frank Dermody and Mike Hanna, state Sens. Tina Tartaglione and Larry Farnese, former Congresswomen Allyson Schwartz and Marjorie Margolies and former Sheriff Barbara Deeley.
DelRicci said she was proud to run a clean, honest campaign. She saw one silver lining. About 6,200 people voted, more than either candidate expected.
“That’s something to be proud of,” DelRicci said.
During the campaign, DelRicci indicated she would run for a full term next year if she lost. Democrats do better in elections headed by a presidential race, when many of their casual voters show up at the polls.
“We will regroup,” she said.
State Rep.-elect Martina White is a graduate of Nazareth Academy Grade School and Villa Joseph Marie High School. She is a former captain of the field hockey team at Elizabethtown College, where she earned a degree in business administration, with a double concentration in finance and marketing. ••
Headed to the House: Republican Martina White declared victory in a special election in the 170th Legislative District on Tuesday night. She watched results come in at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 with family, union president John McNesby, state Rep. John Taylor, City Councilman Denny O’Brien and former state Rep. George Kenney. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTO
