Dem Wins Council Seat

He may be in the minority, but Democrat Bryan Allen is confident he can offer the Bensalem Township Council the "checks and balances" that voters want. 

Allen, 35, who served on the Republican-controlled council from 2006-2010, was the top vote-getter with 3,928 votes, according to unofficial Bucks County election results. Voters returned Republicans Tony Belfield (3,835 votes) and Joseph Pilieri (3,497 votes), according to the county's unofficial results.

Republican incumbent John Mathieu and Democrats Bhasker Patel and Kevin Brutschea received 3,284 votes, 3,275 votes and 3,059 votes respectively, according to the county's unofficial results. 

"We’ve had one party in charge of everything and I think it’s good to have different views and opinions," said Allen, who will be the lone Democrat on the Republican-controlled Bensalem Township Council. 

Allen, who lost a bid for re-election in 2009, said his top priority is to return the Parx Casino rebate to homeowners to its previous $300 allotment, which has since dwindled to $100. 

"I look forward to working with the mayor and trying to move Bensalem forward," Allen told Patch Tuesday night. "It’s not always the easiest thing, but you've got to try to work together in a bi-partisan way."

Allen added that he and the other council members "agree on 70 percent of what we need to do" and he hopes that by approaching initiatives in a "civil manner," he will succeed, even as a minority on the governing body.