Chester County commissioner loses primary battle

Democratic voters in suburban Chester County Tuesday elected not to renominate three-term County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone.

Each party nominates two candidates to serve on the three-member commission, and Cozzone finished third in the party primary behind Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell and Tredyffrin businesswoman Marian Moskowitz.

County Democratic chairman Dick Bingham said voters seem restless for change, and those who wanted to express dissatisfaction with the current GOP-led county commission didn’t take into account the fact that Cozzone wasn’t in the majority.

“I don’t think the voters tried to parse that out, other than to say, ‘Let’s move on,’” Bingham said.

Opposition to the Sunoco Mariner East 2 pipeline has been a hot issue in the county, and last month the county sued to block construction on two county-owned properties.

Moskowitz stressed the importance of the county addressing critical issues such as the pipeline, infrastructure needs and the opioid crisis. She said she didn’t campaign against Cozzone.

“I think Commissioner Cozzone did a great job,” Moskowitz said in an interview. “It’s never easy being a minority commissioner.”

Besides serving in Chester County, Cozzone is president of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Moskowitz and Maxwell will take on Republican Commissioners Terence Farrell and Michelle Kichline, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary.

Democrats have never won a majority on the Chester County Commission.