Some voters and candidates got up yesterday morning and had an "ah-ha" moment when they checked the returns.

Some of those were in the West Mifflin Area School District, where a fired girls' basketball coach ran a successful write-in campaign for school board and defeated an incumbent.

Others included voters in Clairton, who approved a change to the Home Rule Charter.

Here's a quick look at a few -- but certainly not all -- of the surprises from the many municipal and school board races in the South Hills, which were on Tuesday's ballot.

Remember, please, all returns are unofficial.

The combination of a strong newcomer's voice and a last-minute write-in campaign waged by a former administrator was enough to change the make-up of the school board in Tuesday's election.

Debra Rice of Scott, a special education teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, was the voters' top pick, followed by incumbents Jeff Choura, Bridget Kelly, and Beth McIntyre -- all from Scott.

Incumbent Tom Galluze, also of Scott, was defeated.

Also, former Chartiers Valley Assistant Superintendent Tammy Whitfield, of Collier, received write-in votes, but there weren't enough write-ins districtwide to defeat any of the candidates on the ballot. Dr. Whitfield could not be reached for comment.

Though enticed initially to run at the urging of her brother, who is a school director in another state, Mrs. Rice, the mother of four and a special education teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, worries the district has become complacent.

"There are a lot of changes coming to education and we need to bring [our schools] up to speed," she said, adding that she wants to learn more about curriculum.

She had some remarks about some board member behavior, too.

Administrators should be allowed to do their jobs, she said, and school directors must be accountable to the community and not the reverse.

"They act as if it's a trophy position and it's not," she said.

Ms. McIntyre, who was elected to a fourth four-year term, said she is looking for a brighter future.

"I'm hoping the climate changes and I can be part of this board again," she said.

Dr. Whitfield, a 22-year district employee whose contract expired Saturday, awaits a U.S. District Court decision on her accusation that her First Amendment rights have been violated. Dr. Whitfield said she believes her contract has not been renewed because of her 2006 testimony in a suspension appeal hearing involving basketball coach Tim McConnell.

She ran a late write-in campaign at the urging of her supporters.

Municipal layoffs and a real estate tax hike of up to 20 mills were apparently averted Tuesday when a majority of Clairton voters voted "yes" to a ballot referendum asking if voters approved amending the city's Home Rule Charter to cap the earned income tax rate at 2.5 percent from the current 1 percent.

City Manager Ralph Imbrogno said passage does not mean council will necessarily raise the tax to the 2.5 percent. The city's home rule charter requires any changes to any type of tax to be made by referendum.

"But we would consider some increase over 1 percent to offset the real estate tax. Then the burden is not on seniors who own homes but on the workers' salaries," he said.

Almost half the city residents are seniors, he said, "who wouldn't be hurt as bad as they are predominantly retired."

"If we had to lay people off, snow removal and other services would have been severely affected," said Councilman Richard Ford, who said a 20-mill real estate tax was a possibility if the referendum had not passed.

The city has operated under Act 47 distressed community status for the last 15 years.

"We basically were a community that was hit hard by the steel mill exodus," Mr. Imbrogno said. "At one time we had a population of more than 20,000 in the 1040s through 1960s. Now we have 8,400.

"When you lose people, you lose your tax base, and we are struggling financially."

For the past half-year, businesswoman and former resident Mary Pitcher has worked tirelessly to get a skate park, which she wants to call Pitcher Park, built in town as a memorial to her two sons. But council will not give her permission.

Tuesday's election may have changed all that.

A slate of candidates Mrs. Pitcher endorsed on her Facebook page -- in effect, a Pitcher Park ticket -- was nearly all elected Tuesday. The Allegheny County election bureau lists council winners as Democrats Laurie Malka, Heather Schmidt and Eugene Barilla, along with Republican Joan Hodson. In addition, Republican Tom Lloyd was re-elected as mayor.

These were Mrs. Pitcher's picks.

Mr. Lloyd was challenged by Democrat John Maggio, a vocal park opponent. On her Facebook posting, Mrs. Pitcher urged voters to "stand up to John Maggio."

The Pitcher Park ticket's only casualty was write-in candidate Jeff Fabus.

The results bode well for Mrs. Pitcher's chances. The park, build under the aegis of a foundation, would be built with private funds, not tax dollars.

Ms. Schmidt, an attorney and former skateboarder, has long been a supporter of Pitcher Park, often speaking on its behalf before council. She said she wants to poll residents on the subject.

Ms. Lusardi and Ms. Malka are park supporters. Ms. Hodson has indicated that she is open to the issue, but wants more information. She would be the swing vote.

Incumbent Clare Guffey lost in her bid for re-election and three other board members whose terms were up chose not to run again.

That means there will be four newcomers on the board. They are: Dorothy Wycoff, Mary Scarry, Barry Belczyk and Scott McVicker.

Democratic Mayor Vincent Abbato lost his post to Republican challenger Chuck Hammer, in a race that was dominated by the issue of how borough officials handled the death of retired Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Ralph Cappy.

Mr. Hammer had previously served as mayor for three terms.

Justice Cappy was found dead in his Green Tree home May 1 by U.S. Magistrate Lisa Pupo Lenihan, who called police and waited for officers to arrive.

According to an incident report, the judge was uncooperative and refused to provide her name to Officer Charles Kern. She also called Mr. Abbato, a friend of Justice Cappy, who went to the scene and called an attorney for her.

The officer was later cited for insubordination and other department violations, which he challenged at a public civil service hearing. The borough has hired a law firm to do an internal investigation into how the incident report was leaked to the media.

Mr. Hammer used the incidents in his campaign saying that he would get the police department back on track.

Mr. Abbato, who owns a restaurant in the borough, said yesterday that he wishes Mr. Hammer "all of the best success."

In the council race, it appears that incumbent Paul Kirsch lost his seat to John Novak. Three other incumbent councilmen, Edward Schenck, Mark Sampogna and Daniel Behanna, were re-elected.

Tuesday night, voters ushered in three newcomers and re-elected a veteran school board member.

Board president Lori Spando was unseated, after winning only the Republican nomination in the May primary. School director David Donato also lost his seat, having failed to secure either nomination. School director 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 seats Tuesday night. Wayne Washowich, the building inspector for White Oak, won back his seat for his fourth term.

The district's stalled $40 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 then the board terminated the architect and decided to retool the whole plan.

"I'm really anxious to get it moving," said Ms. Maksin, who used to work in Cornell Intermediate, one of the aging buildings slated for either demolition or renovation.

Mr. Washowich and Mr. Maglicco also said they were concerned with the district's 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 Boys & Girls Club, which runs after-school programs with homework help and tutoring, to figure out how to help the district's lowest-achieving students.

North Versailles' 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 in a write-in campaign, 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 very hard this fall because he's been at the borough building helping with day-to-day operations. Mr. Snyder's 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 takes the place of Commissioner Sean McGuire, who retires after this term. Mr. Juliano was re-elected to his post, to which he was appointed after Commissioner Brian Dull quit the commission earlier this year. And 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 such as police department funding. Commissioners were also in conflict over how to rebuild the township after shoddy financial management caused its coffers to run dry early this year, causing delay in salaries for its police officers and other employees.

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

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

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

Commission President John Daley and School Board President Alan Silhol both lost their seats.

Two seats were up for election on the municipal commission. Mr. Daley, a Democrat running for re-election for Ward 2, lost his seat to Matthew J. Kluck, a Republican, who won with 52.09 percent of the vote, compared to Mr. Daley's 47.86 percent.

Commissioner Dale Colby, of Ward 4, did not run for re-election. Democrat David Brumfield beat out Republican Dale K. Cowher with 53.78 percent of the vote compared to Mr. Cowher's 46.15 percent.

Four seats were in play on the Mt. Lebanon School Board. Mr. Silhol, Josephine Posti and Daniel Remely were all running for re-election. Board member Mark Hart's term was up, but he did not run for re-election.

Mrs. Posti, a Democrat and Mr. Remely, a Republican, held on to their seats, with 14.77 percent and 15.43 percent of the vote, respectively. Mary D. Birks and Dale F. Ostergaard, who ran on both the Democratic and Republican tickets, received 21.25 percent and 20.24 percent of the vote, respectively, and will join the school board. Mr. Silhol, a Republican, won 14.64 percent of the vote and Robert Gardner, Jr., a Democrat, won 13.47 percent of the vote.

Incumbent Cynthia McEnheimer lost in her bid for re-election, but incumbents Joseph Ducar and Susan Ballas were elected to four-year terms.

In addition, there will be three new faces on the board. Michael Terrick was elected to a four-year, at-large seat; Colette Youngblood was elected to a four-year seat from Region 1; and Donald Bajus was elected to a two-year term.

Incumbent Bill Sulkowski did not win re-election, but two other incumbents, Frank Kerber and Harry Kunselman, were re-elected.

They will be joined in the board by newcomers Louis Mafrice and Bruce Kerman.

It appears that Phil Shar, who was fired as the girls' basketball coach in June, may have won a write-in campaign for a seat on the school board, ousting incumbent Diana Olasz.

The Allegheny County Elections Division won't count write-in votes until next week. According to the unofficial election returns from yesterday, the four open four-year seats were captured by Michael Price Jr., Theodore Cale, Nicholas Alexandroff and Mrs. Olasz. Mr. Cale also won a two-year seat.

However, John Donis, chairman of the West Mifflin Democratic Party, said vote totals received from polling places indicated that Mr. Shar beat Mrs. Olasz by about 150 votes.

Mrs. Olasz said she also saw numbers that indicated that Mr. Shar received between 150-200 votes more than she did.

Mr. Shar said he believes the votes he received came from voters who are tired of the way that Superintendent Patrick Risha is running the district. He noted that in the primary, three other incumbents were voted out of office.

Mrs. Olasz said she said she agrees that the people who voted for Mr. Shar were actually voting against Mr. Risha and not her.

"It was a fight between Mr. Risha and Mr. Shar and I got stuck in the middle," she said. "I wish the new board and Mr. Shar well."

Mr. Risha opened Mr. Shar's contract after 19 years in May after he made derogatory comments about the superintendent to local newspapers, and the board replaced him a month later with his former assistant.

That prompted Mr. Shar to embark on a write-in campaign for school board.

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