Worcester County Commissioners Diana Purnell (top left), Ted Elder (top right), and Chip Bertino (bottom left) were on the ballot for reelection, while Commissioner Jim Bunting (bottom right) decided not to run again.
Worcester County voters ousted two longtime county commissioners in Tuesday’s primary, while a third incumbent trailed in a race too close to call.
Commissioners Ted Elder and Diana Purnell lost their primary races, while Commissioner Chip Bertino trailed challenger Joe Schanno by 65 votes in District 5 at press time.
Winning incumbents were Commissioners Caryn Abbott and Eric Fiori, while Joe Mitrecic won a fourth uncontested term.
District 5 remained the only commissioner race headed to the Nov. 3 general election, where the Republican primary winner will face Democrat Vicky Wallace.
The results signal a shakeup likely to alter the direction of a board dominated for the past four years by a conservative voting bloc.
Since the 2022 election, the board’s policies and budget trajectory have increasingly been shaped by a majority of Elder, Bertino, Abbott, and Commissioner Jim Bunting, who did not seek reelection.
After the county adopted its $300 million budget on June 2, the board’s conservative majority drew public criticism for denying the school board’s full funding request.
Some of those commissioners, including Bertino, have pointed repeatedly to an ongoing embezzlement case involving a former school district administrator as a reason not to approve the amount requested.
What is sad is that 38A is primarily supposed to be represented by Somerset County. Those residents in Somerset County couldn’t convince enough Republicans to come out to vote and they lost to a Hillbilly from Saxis, Virginia. No is is not from Maryland. No he is not from Worcester County. No he is not Pocomoke and he is definitely not from Somerset County. He is a come here from Virginia. I don’t want to hear you people from Somerset County whining again about Moore or someone else being a come here. Now Worcester County will technically have 2 State Delegates to Somerset County’s 0, Zilch, Nada, Zero! Good job, Somerset County.
Don’t understand how people voted for taylor. He knew about the embezzlement at the board of education and tried to cover it up. If he did it at the board of education he will do it again. Shows his character or lack of it
Jim Bunting was NOT “ousted”! Welcome to 4 years of the cronies and even faker news Worcester County 🙁