Buelow wins seat on West Lakeland Township board

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
Updated ·2 min read

John Buelow won a seat on the West Lakeland Township board on Tuesday night, defeating incumbent Marian Appelt by 21 votes.

In the Seat A race, Buelow, the owner of Buelow Excavating, received 327 votes; Appelt, who was appointed to the board in November 2019 and elected to the board in March 2022, received 306 votes.

“The big issue was roads and how we’re going to pay for them,” Buelow said Wednesday morning. “When I went out door knocking, roads and the town hall renovation project were the issues people wanted to talk about.”

Buelow, 74, said he ran for office because he believed his “technical expertise,” particularly in road building, could help the township. Many of the township’s 45 miles of road – which were built along with housing developments in the 1980s and 1990s – are aging and need improvement, he said.

“Quite a few citizens at the annual meeting were in favor of setting up an advisory board on the roads to try and move forward with this, and I think that’s a good idea,” he said.

Buelow said he was surprised he prevailed, but that his message obviously resonated with voters.

“Looking at the vote tally, it looks like our township is somewhat divided,” he said. “I would hope that there’s a way to bring people together and work together on these issues.”

Said Appelt: “John fought hard during this campaign. I wish him the best and congratulate him on winning the election. On to other adventures for me.”

Philip Moosbrugger, who was appointed to the West Lakeland Township board in November 2022, ran unopposed for the Seat B seat. He received 473 votes.

Moosbrugger, 68, was appointed to fill former town board chairman Dan Kyllo’s seat on the board. Kyllo resigned in September.

MAY TOWNSHIP

In May Township, Don Rolf Jr., 58, ran unopposed for the open seat on the town board. He received 50 votes.

May Town Board Chairman John Adams, who had served on the board since 1996 and took over as chairman when Bill Voedisch retired in 2021, decided not to run for reelection.

Rolf Jr. previously served as vice chairman of the township’s planning commission.

Related Articles