The mayor of Lehighton and the chairman of the Franklin Township Board of Supervisors both went down in defeat in Tuesday's primary election, losing their re-election bids on the Republican ballots. Elsewhere, an incumbent Mahoning Township supervisor was successful in his bid for a GOP nomination for re-election.

Mayor Thomas L. Mase of Lehighton lost a three-person race to retain his seat, losing to Clark Ritter, while Rod E. Green, Franklin supervisor, also lost a three-person race, having been defeated by newcomer Jason Frey.Lehighton BoroughRitter was a 78-vote winner over Mase in the balloting for the nomination for a four-year term. He tallied 171 votes while Mase had 93, and the third candidate, Ryan R. Saunders, followed with 63.Ritter will go up against Democrat Douglas J. Nothstein in November. The latter was unopposed Tuesday and collected 249 token votes from party voters.Elsewhere in Lehighton, three incumbent council members withstood a challenge from a newcomer to win Democratic nominations for the three four-year terms that are to be filled by the voters.Joe Flickinger finished high with 218 votes; followed by Helen Torok, 196; and Scott Rehrig, 178. Narrowly losing out by three votes was Katelyn R. Bear, who had 175 votes.The three incumbents will face three Republicans in November who were unopposed. They are Autumn Abelovsky, Carlos F. Teets and Denise Murphy, who garnered 249, 202 and 168 votes, respectively.Tax collector Mary E. Strohl, a Republican, was unopposed on both tickets Tuesday. She collected 311 token votes in her bid for the GOP nomination for another four-year term.Franklin TownshipFrey's 299 votes in Franklin Township was 118 more than Chairman Green's 181. The third candidate was Jonathan Gula, who tallied 53 votes.Frey will face Democrat David F. Bradley Sr. in November. He was unopposed Tuesday and received 111 complimentary votes.Incumbent tax collector Sara J. Keiser, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to another four-year term and was unopposed on both ballots. She tallied 267 complimentary votes from party voters.The only other candidate on Franklin's ballot Tuesday was Republican Howard R. Boehringer, who is running for another six-year term on the board of auditors. He received 312 complimentary votes.Mahoning TownshipIn Mahoning Township, incumbent Supervisor Bruce R. Steigerwalt won the Republican nomination for a six-year term. He defeated Myron Zeke Blahy. There was no Democratic candidate.Republican Robert Slaw, another incumbent, ran unopposed for the nomination for a two-year term as supervisor. He collected 249 complimentary votes. No one is running on the Democratic side.Another township incumbent, tax collector Pauline Homm, is running for re-election to another four-year term. A Democrat, she was unopposed on both tickets and received 210 token votes from her party's voters.The township voters will also elect an auditor for a six-year term. Incumbent Wallace Putkowski, a Republican, was unopposed on both ballots. He collected 241 complimentary GOP votes.East Penn TownshipThere were two nominations open for six-year terms on the East Penn Township Board of Supervisors, however, there were no contests.Republicans Steven C. Heckman and John M. Strockoz collected 124 and 111 votes, respectively, for the offices. There were no Democratic candidates.Tax collector Thomas N. Beck, a Democrat, is running again for another four-year term. There was no Republican candidate. Beck collected 110 token votes from party members.Republican Lee Becker was the only other candidate on the East Penn ballot. He ran unopposed for the six-year term as auditor and garnered 144 token votes.No one sought either the Democratic or Republican nominations for a four-year term as auditor in the township.ParryvilleParryville Borough had a shortage of candidates Tuesday.Only Democrat Sharon K. Hinkle appeared on the ballot. She received 31 token votes in winning one of four nominations that are available for four-year terms on the council.No one is running in Parryville for the four-year terms as mayor and tax collector.WeissportSimilar to Parryville, Weissport Borough also had only one candidate, that being Democrat Brenda E. Leiby. She received 21 complimentary votes as a candidate for one of three four-year nominations on the council.No one is running in Weissport for the four-year terms as mayor and tax collector.