Shorraw admits loss, refuses to speculate on write-in effort

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

The Monessen mayoral race will come into sharper focus today when the Westmoreland County Election Bureau releases the names on write-in ballots, but mail-in votes have only cemented Ron Mozer’s victory.

As of presstime, Mozer had earned 779 votes to Mayor Matt Shorraw’s 520. Mozer had 155 mail-in votes to Shorraw’s 115. It was almost exactly a 60% to 40% split overall.

Shorraw had reserved comment on election night, preferring to wait until the mail-in ballots had been totaled.

On Thursday, he admitted that he came up short in the primary. 

“Turnout was very low and voters weren’t as motivated and energized as we had hoped,” Shorraw said. “Despite the struggles, I’m incredibly proud of the work my team and I have done so far. I will continue to implement my plans and initiatives until my final day.” 

Shorraw said he hasn’t decided on any next steps.

“We don’t know what will happen between now and November, but I will certainly keep (everyone) informed,” he said. 

When asked if he was considering a write-in campaign for the fall election, Shorraw said there were several things that could happen, but that he couldn’t elaborate at this time.

“The thing that hasn’t changed from 2017 to today is my sincere love for our city and its people,” he said. “This place is home to me, and no matter where I am, I will continue to work at making Monessen a better place for everyone.”

There are 226 write-in votes waiting to be counted for the Republican nomination for mayor. 

Similarly, the council race results have remained relatively the same since election night. The gaps between those who earned Democratic nominations and those who didn’t have only widened.

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