The Chester County Republican Party steamrolled its way to victory yesterday winning the commissioners race by margins some long-term GOP activists claimed were reminiscent of the 70s.

And along the way voters elected the first Afro-American commissioner in the county's history. A fact Terence Farrell played down throughout the campaign. "I like to think I'm a member of the human race and not one particular race," said Farrell in an interview early in the campaign.

According to unofficial votes, Carol Aichele was the lead vote getter in the four-person commissioners race with 46,502 votes. Farrell won with 42,426 votes. Kathi Cozzone led the Democrat ticket with 35,063. Her running mate, Bill Scott, received 32,063 votes. Cozzone will take the third seat on the three-member commissioners' board reserved by law for the lead minority candidate.

With only 94 of the county's 224 precincts reporting, the Republicans claimed victory at 10:45 last night. "This shows the voters realize the importance of keeping Republican leadership in the county," shouted out county GOP Chairman Joe 'Skip' Brion at the party's election night headquarters at the Italian Social Club in West Chester.

Scott and Cozzone ran an aggressive campaign that fizzled at the end when Democrat voters failed to turn out. For many Republicans yesterday's margin of victory provided a political boost for the party that last year stood by and watched county voters elect two Democrats to state offices; Andy Dinniman defeated Aichele for the state senate seat in the 19th District and Barbara McIlvaine-Smith won the 156th state legislative seat.

Aichele and Farrell ran a campaign promising fiscal responsibility and the promise to keep funding Landscapes, the county's award-winning open space program. Aichele was constantly attacked for raising taxes the first three years of her term. They claimed the 2008 proposed county budget with its zero-tax increase was nothing more than a political ploy. Hoping to win the sentiment of the county's open-space supporters, the pair promised to increase spending on open space beyond the $20 million promised by Aichele and Farrell.

Aichele and Farrell said they would only consider increasing funds for open space preservation beyond the $20 million mark if it were approved by a referendum vote the two said could be held in next year's primary.

For voters, the Democrats' claim that Aichele "never met a tax hike she didn't like" rang false. Aichele did approve tax increases during the first, three years of her term. However, the total of all three increases failed to cost the average homeowner less than $100, according to Mark Rupsis, the county's chief administrative officer. According to the proposed 2008 budget, the average home in the county assesses at $193,356 and generates $736 in county tax revenues.

Brion told party faithful last night that yesterday's election demonstrated that county voters want continued Republican control of the courthouse.