Republican Commissioner DiGirolamo Announces Reelection Bid

Republican Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo will seek reelection.

DiGirolamo, of Bensalem Township, was elected to the job in 2019 and took office in 2020. He previously served as a state representative for 25 years.

“I am proud of my work during my first term as county commissioner,” said DiGirolamo. “From fighting to hold county government accountable, combating the opioid epidemic, to promoting common-sense solutions to protect the integrity of our elections, I have been a leader on critical issues facing Bucks County.”

The Republican announced his campaign Monday afternoon, but he did not list any running mates from his party.

A spokesperson for DiGirolamo’s campaign said the seasoned politician will wait until the primary to see who voters pick as a running mate if he earns his party’s nod.

No other Bucks County Republicans have announced a primary bid, but several are preparing or exploring bids for office, GOP sources told LevittownNow.com.

According to the state’s county code, county commissioners are elected every four years. Voters cast a ballot for two candidates and those with the highest vote tallies win. The commissioners are made up of two winning members from one party and one member from the party that received the least votes. They oversee county government and the workforce spread throughout; control the budget for county government, the courts, and elect row offices; and appoint citizens for boards and authorities.

Democrats and Republicans see the commissioner race in Bucks County as key and a precursor to the 2024 U.S. senate and presidential election. The race is expected to cost seven figures.

Republicans are seeking to retake the majority on the three-person commissioners board.

Democratic Commissioners Chairperson Bob Harvie, of Falls Township, and Vice Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia, of Middletown Township, both incumbents, are seeking reelection. They announced their campaign in December.

Harvie and Ellis-Marseglia are the first Democratic majority on the Bucks County Commissioners since the late 1980s. Their win in one of the state’s largest and most influential counties was celebrated by the party statewide and made their seats ones that Democrats want to hold going forward.

DiGirolamo has shown himself willing to work with his Democratic colleagues. The Democrats and Republican appear to have a solid relationship despite some policy disagreements.

DiGirolamo’s campaign celebrated his support of drug treatment and prevention programs, which the county has a heavy role in. He serves on the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust as the representative from Southeastern Pennsylvania. The trust was set up to disburse funds from the $1 billion opioid settlement.

“I am honored to be appointed to represent the region on this panel,” said DiGirolamo at the time of his appointment. “I’ll work to ensure that Bucks County and our neighbors are able to receive and deploy the resources we need to tackle the serious problem of addiction affecting so many in our communities.” 

DiGirolamo’s campaign noted his support of security measures at the county’s election mail-in ballot drop boxes. All three commissioners have agreed to have drop boxes monitored by a security camera and staffed during the hours they are open by Board of Elections officials.

DiGirolamo, a former Bensalem Township auditor, said he has fought to protect tax dollars when serving in the county’s executive branch.

“I look forward to bringing fiscally-responsible leadership to a new Republican majority on the Board of Commissioners. I am excited to begin this campaign and to speak directly with the voters, the people of this County, to share my vision for our community,” he said in a statement.

During the early months of the pandemic, the three commissioners and the county’s state capitol delegation applied pressure on the state health department and Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, to ease COVID-19 restrictions heading into the summer of 2020.

All three commissioners have been criticized by parents-turned-activists over the county’s 2021 school COVID-19 mitigation guidance and other pandemic-related policies. While DiGirolamo has taken some heat, much of it, especially in recent months, has been directed at the Democratic officials.

DiGirolamo has stood firm that the county’s election results are accurate and the process is handled in a bipartisan manner. While his Democratic counterparts agree, he has given the hardest public push to get lawmakers in Harrisburg to agree to reform the election process for mail-in ballots to allow county workers to get results quicker.

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