Incumbents Win Democratic Primary for Forest Hills Council

the Democratic nominations for Forest Hills Borough Council went to incumbents Steve Karas, Devon Wood and Bill Burleigh, according to unofficial elections results from the Allegheny County Elections Division.

Paul J. Palko, who ran unopposed as a Republican, also secured his nomination.

As returns came in Tuesday night, Karas emerged at the lead of Democratic candidates. When all precincts had been reported, Karas took the largest percentage of the vote, followed by Burleigh and Wood. Democratic candidate Harry R. White, Jr. trailed Wood by roughly 10 points.

“I’m obviously very happy,” Karas said when reached by phone Tuesday night. “I think it’s a result of the work I’ve done over the past three and a half years.”

Wood, who said she spent the day talking to residents at the polls, said the election energized her for the general election in November.

“Everybody ran a clean campaign; you could really feel a sense of community,” Wood said. “I was able to talk to a lot of people who don’t necessarily show up for meetings.”

Burleigh and White were unable to be reached for comment Tuesday night.

For his part, Karas said he plans to continue with his general election campaign closer to November. In the meantime, he said, he’ll focus his energy on serving the public for the remainder of his term.

“Council is about working hard,” he said.

Wood echoed that sentiment, adding that winning the nomination is only the first step.

“I think it speaks to the fact that we’re headed in the right direction in terms of what voters want to see,” Wood said. “[But] we still have a lot of work to do.”

In November’s general election, Karas, Burleigh, Wood and Republican Palko will vie for three seats. Currently, Forest Hills council is entirely Democratic.

“Even though it’s an overwhelmingly Democratic area, I don’t take that lightly,” Wood said. “We’ll rest for tonight.”

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