There was one contested Primary Election race in the entire Palmerton area yesterday and that was for the Democratic nomination for a four-year term as Mayor of Bowmanstown.

Mayor Keith Billig's retirement set up that challenge, where an incumbent councilman prevailed by a five-vote margin.Otherwise, there were no races to be decided in either Palmerton Borough, Lower Towamensing or Towamensing townships nor the Palmerton Area School Board.BowmanstownCouncilman William H. Ravert won the race for the Democratic nomination for mayor. he defeated newcomer Barry Pointon Jr. by a 29-24 margin.There were also 25 write-in votes on the Republican side for the office. To be successful in getting on the ballot opposite Ravert, a person will need to be the highest vote recipient with at least 10 write-in votes. That will be determined by the county's board of elections.Tax Collector Maria Smith, a Democrat, was the top vote recipient in the borough, receiving 58 token votes. She was unopposed on both ballots for re-election to a four-year term.Ravert also won a nomination for a four-year term on council, where two incumbent Democrats and a newcomer were running unopposed. He received 24 votes and was joined by incumbent Burdell Steigerwalt, 41, and Robert Moyer, 48.There were also 36 write-in votes from Republicans for the council nominations.PalmertonChallenges for Palmerton's mayor and council positions are set after yesterday's Primary round.For the four-year term as mayor, incumbent Christopher Olivia, a Democrat, was unopposed yesterday and received 121 token votes. He will face Republican Jereme J. Barkanic in November as he was unopposed as well on Tuesday and collected 81 votes from party members.There are four four-year terms on the council to be filled this year. Yesterday, two Democratic incumbents ran unopposed while the Republican voters in the borough selected four of five persons to advance to the Fall. The Democratic incumbents are Christopher Hoffner and Jason Behler. They received 139 and 131 votes, respectively.They will face four GOP members in November, including incumbents Richard Nothstein and Michael Ballard, who received 99 and 79 votes, respectively, as well as Barkanic, 66, and newcomer Gerard Alfano, 56. Another newcomer, Lamont C. Musselman, failed to win a nomination with 51 votes.There will also be a tax collector's race in November. With the current officeholder, Diane Andreas, opting for retirement, yesterday there were one Democrat and one Republican on the ballot. To face each other will be Democrat Robyn M. Barbosa, who received 116 token votes yesterday, and Republican Lisa Nemeth, who received 104 complimentary votes from the GOP voters.Incumbent Holly F. Hausman Sell, a Democrat, was the lone candidate for a two-year term on council that is available. She collected 123 complimentary votes.TowamensingTownshipThere were no election nomination challenges in Towamensing Township.Two incumbents who are seeking re-election were unopposed both on their party's ballot, as well as on the opposite side.Republican Penny Kleintop is running without opposition for another six-year term on the board of supervisors. She received 87 token votes. There were 31 Democratic write-in votes for that office.Democrat H. Bruce Reiner is running unchallenged for a four-year term as tax collector. He received 104 complimentary votes from party members.Township voters are also expected to elect three auditors, for terms of two, four and six years. There were no candidates on either ballot for the positions.Lower Towamensing TownshipThere were no contested races in Lower Towamensing Township.Two incumbents who are up for re-election are running again and both are unopposed on both tickets. They include Supervisor Ronald A. Walbert, who is aspiring to another six-year term on the board. He received 87 complimentary votes from party members. There were also 19 GOP write-in votes cast.Tax Collector Connie D. Brown, who is seeking another four-year term, received 99 complimentary votes.The township voters are also expected to fill two auditor positions, one for a six-year term and the other for a two-year term. There were no candidates for either position.Palmerton Area School BoardFour incumbents whose terms are expiring on the Palmerton Area School District Board of Education are running for re-election and faced no opposition.Barry W. Scherer topped both ballots with 309 and 249 Democratic and Republican votes, respectively, while Darlene Yeakel was second on the two slates. She received 297 Democratic votes and 234 from the GOP members.Susan Debski and Clarence "Chuck" Myers are the other two incumbents without opposition. Debski was third on the Democratic side with 268 votes, followed by Myers' 265, while they each received 215 Republican votes.