The general election Tuesday yielded few surprises in the PG East region. But there was a significant development in Penn Hills.

Erin Vecchio, the Democratic Party chairwoman there, lost in her bid for a fourth term on the Penn Hills school board. She was last among five candidates; the top four were elected.

Ms. Vecchio is a former school board president.

Among the mayoral changes in Westmoreland County, Republican Bob Brooks will take over in Murrysville (Joyce Somers had reached her term limit); Democrat Robert Carter won in Jeannette (Robert Cafasso did not seek re-election); and Republican James G. Douglas will replace the retiring Lenny Santimyer in North Irwin.

All results in the area are unofficial. Here is a summary of some races:

Voters elected three newcomers and re-elected a veteran to the board.

Board President Lori Spando was unseated, after winning only the Republican nomination in the May primary. David Donato also lost his seat, having failed to secure either nomination. Barbara Stevenson chose not to run for an additional term.

Retired teacher Patricia Maksin, McKeesport deputy police chief Mark Holtzman and Thomas Maglicco, director of the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club in McKeesport, all won Tuesday.

Wayne Washowich, the building inspector for White Oak, won a fourth term.

The district's stalled $40 million to $50 million plan to build or renovate three schools was the hottest topic of discussion among the school directors-elect, who said they're tired of the dawdling on the current board and want to see ground broken as soon as possible.

The original plan called for construction to start this fall, but the board terminated the architect and decided to retool the whole plan.

"I'm really [eager] to get it moving," said Ms. Maksin, who used to work in Cornell Intermediate, one of the aging buildings that is slated for demolition or renovation. "We need to dig in and get it done."

Mr. Washowich and Mr. Maglicco also said they were concerned about student test scores. The district again failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress this past school year, which Mr. Washowich worries is discouraging young families from moving into the community.

Mr. Maglicco said he hoped to use his experience as director of the LaRosa club -- which runs after-school programs with homework help and tutoring -- to figure out how to help the district's lowest-achieving students.

Voters welcomed two new commissioners and re-elected a third in a race that pitted well-organized write-in candidates against nominees.

Commission President Kash Snyder lost in his bid as a write-in candidate, garnering 101 of the 372 votes cast to represent Ward 6, he said.

Mr. Snyder failed to get the Democratic nomination in May and said he didn't campaign hard this fall because he's been at the borough building, helping with day-to-day operations.

Mr. Snyder was originally elected by write-in four years ago, unseating a 24-year veteran with a vigorous campaign effort.

Daryl Mitchell, Sam Juliano and Arthur Marra won seats in Wards 2, 4 and 6, respectively.

Mr. Mitchell will take the place of Sean McGuire, who retires after this term. Mr. Juliano was re-elected to his post, to which he was appointed after Brian Dull quit earlier this year. Mr. Marra defeated Mr. Snyder.

All three said they'd like to see more cohesion and less fighting on the board, which was deeply divided over critical issues that included the amount of funding for the police department.

The commissioners also were in conflict over how to rebuild the township after shoddy financial management caused its coffers to run dry early this year, meaning it had to delay salaries for police officers and other employees.

Mr. Marra, a commercial landscaper, said he would like to focus on repaying the township's debt. He also wants to "cut the fat" out of the township's administrative departments, which he believes to be overstaffed.

He and Mr. Juliano said they want to apply for more outside grants and to make sure grant money is spent properly.

"The No. 1 goal is for all of us to work as a team and go after as many grants that are available," Mr. Juliano said.

Mr. Mitchell said he'd like to attract more businesses into the area as a way to augment the township's tax base.

In a tight four-way race, former council member Pamela Macklin came out on top to claim one Ward 2 seat while incumbent Jason Cohn won the second. Mr. Cohn edged out Dennis Briggs and first-time candidate Ashley Deal, who threw her support to Mr. Cohn after the primary.

Ms. Macklin said she is glad she won, but was disappointed in the low voter turnout, which she attributed in part to negative campaigning. She said, however, that animosity from the campaign won't affect her working relationship with council members or impact her mission to immediately address the budget and management salaries.

"In businesses everywhere, we work with people that have different points of view or values," she said. "But I'm here for the people of Wilkinsburg and to work to make things better for them."

Mr. Cohn agreed that hard feelings shouldn't interfere with work that needs to be done on council and said he doesn't believe Ms. Macklin will hold any grudges. He also said he's glad he can continue to push an agenda to broaden the tax base, raise revenues and address public safety issues.

"We have financial stresses, like any other borough, that will eventually expand because revenues are going down," he said. "We have to find ways of bringing in more revenue without raising taxes.

"We're at a point of diminishing returns if we raise taxes any more because more people will just leave Wilkinsburg."

Republican Bob Brooks, an 18-year council veteran, garnered three-quarters of the vote to win the mayoral race. He will succeed Joyce Summers, who had reached a term limit.

Mr. Brooks, the former chief financial officer of Westinghouse Air Brake Company, defeated Democrat Mark R. Kennedy.

Mr. Brooks said his goal for the upcoming term will be to try to maintain Murrysville's rural character as the community continues to develop.

He was against a variance that would have allowed another big box store to be built in the community and said he worries about the traffic and environmental problems such development brings.

He wants to develop the downtown business district with smaller ventures where people can walk, one that won't have to compete with a big box development down the road.

"We want to stay rural," he said. "We want to have businesses develop along our main arteries in an orderly, planned fashion, with architectural standards to make it look like it flows together as one town."

For Mayor Lenny Santimyer, who has held office in the small town for 50 years, the decision to retire was the result of some simple math.

"My birthday was in July and I turned 76," he said. "I thought, 'Darn it, 26 to 76 is 50 years, maybe this is the time.' "

Mr. Santimyer, a Republican, had won the Republican nomination in May. Then he decided in July that he would retire after his term ends Dec. 31.

He will be succeeded by James G. Douglas, a fellow Republican, who defeated Democrat Matt Berkhouse in a close vote Tuesday.

Mr. Santimyer said he became a council member in 1960 after local party officials encouraged him to run because they saw him vote in all of the municipal elections. After the mayor died 16 years ago, a month before the election, residents wrote in Mr. Santimyer's name as mayor.

He moved to North Irwin in the mid-1950s and worked at a local Isaly's. Later, he started a restaurant in Irwin called the Colonial Grille, but locals know it by "Lenny's." The restaurant is now owned by his son.

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