After a tumultuous tenure serving on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, Joe Gale -- a MAGA Republican who was at times at odds with those in his own party -- will not have a chance at a third term.
Gale was the lone county commissioner seeking re-election. Democratic commissioners Ken Lawrence Jr. and Val Arkoosh are both moving on. Lawrence did not seek reelection and Arkoosh resigned earlier this year in order to join Governor -- and former Montgomery County commissioner -- Josh Shapiro’s administration.
As of Wednesday morning with all precincts reporting and some pending provisional and mail ballots, Gale trailed his Republican challengers by thousands of votes.
According to unofficial results from Montgomery County, as of about 11 a.m., Republican challenger Liz Ferry, a U.S. Navy veteran, was beating Gale by more than 7,500 votes. Both Ferry and Gale trailed Republican challenger Tom DiBello, a business owner and former Limerick Township supervisor, with DiBello receiving nearly 10,000 more votes than Gale.
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As county councilmember, Gale's tenure was dotted with controversy.
He began his political career in 2015 after being elected while living at home with his parents. Early on, he was at odds with his own party, who he called "useless."
Gale was also sued by his own constituents, for blocking access to his social media sites. Elected officials and others -- even Philadelphia 76ers player Tobias Harris -- called for his resignation after Gale called the Black Lives Matter movement a "radical left-wing hate group."
Politics
Last year, Gale launched a failed bid for governor, losing to Republican Doug Mastriano in the 2022 primary.
This week, in Montgomery County, voters were able to choose two candidates to vie for the county's three council seats as one party gets the majority with the other party assured the minority third seat. Gale's campaign had pushed voters to "bullet vote" for the candidate to only select him and ignore the other Republican candidates on the ballot.
Instead, Gale will have to bite the bullet, as, it seems voters are ready to move on from the incumbent's divisive tactics.
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