Incumbent Emmitsburg commissioner re-elected; challenger wins second seat in four-way race

Sep. 28—Incumbent Frank Davis and Amy Boehman-Pollitt, secretary of Emmitsburg's Planning Commission, were elected on Tuesday to serve on the town's five-member Board of Commissioners.

Davis and Boehman-Pollitt defeated their two opponents handily. Davis had 246 votes and Boehman-Pollitt had 204 votes.

Kevin Hagan received 60 votes and Mark Long received 64 votes. Both are also members of the town's Planning Commission.

Boehman-Pollitt and Davis will serve a three-year term on the Board of Commissioners, according to the Emmitsburg Municipal Code.

This will be Davis's second term on the board.

In Tuesday's election, 290 Emmitsburg residents cast a ballot. Last year, 269 people voted in the town's election.

There were 3,156 people living in the town as of 2020, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Davis, who will be serving his second term on the board, said he was feeling "overwhelmed" when reached by phone at around 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday.

"I just can't believe that the people of Emmitsburg believe in me that much," he said.

While campaigning over the past few weeks, Davis said he walked more than 90,000 steps. Voters told him they've been happy with what he's done so far in office, he said.

"I guess the vote count proved that," he added.

During his next term on the board, Davis said, he plans to advocate for fixing problems with the town's water and sewer infrastructure and take a look at the fees residents are charged, among other goals.

Boehman-Pollitt, who was out celebrating at a restaurant when reached at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, said she felt "thrilled and shocked and happy" by the results.

She's spent evenings after work campaigning over the past few weeks, and talked with voters all through the weekend. She feels grateful to community members for sharing their concerns with her, she said.

Business owners told her they want more business-friendly practices to be implemented in town, Boehman-Pollit said, and residents said their number-one priority is safety. She said she hopes to address road safety during her term on the board, and advocate for improvements to Emmitsburg Elementary School.

The town polling place, a small building at 22 E. Main St., beside the town's community bulletin board, opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m.

At around 1:45 p.m., when voting was still open, the four election judges working the polling station predicted that turnout would be slightly higher than usual.

It was a long day for the judges. They arrived before voting began at the polling station to set up and make sure everything was in order.

Throughout the day, voters cast their paper ballots in a large wooden box on a table in the small room. Chained shut with a combination lock, it resembled a treasure chest.

After the last voter filtered out of the polling station, the election judges drew the shades and started counting. Then, they counted the ballots again.

And again, a third time, to prevent any discrepancies.

There's no ballot-counting machine in Emmitsburg, so the election judges have to do everything old school.

"It's all by hand," Sharon Hane, the town's chief election judge, said.

After the judges finished counting the ballots, they posted a sheet of paper with the results in the window of the polling station.

Elections are a well-oiled machine in Emmitsburg. There's one every year, although the position in question rotates.

The four women who worked on Tuesday are also veterans.

Hane said she's been working elections in the town for about 18 years and Charlotte Mazaleski, who volunteered on Tuesday as an alternate judge and greeter, has been helping for about a decade.

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier