Editor's Note: The story has been updated to reflect the correct status of the litigation, which is ongoing between Bucks County and Meredith Buck.
Patti Campi, who challenged Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck in Tuesday’s primary election, has won her bid to face off against Republican Charles Stockert in November, according to unofficial election results.
Buck conceded the race Wednesday, wishing Campi well, in a statement.
Campi was the county’s Democratic Party-endorsed candidate. She topped Buck by more than 10,000 votes, capturing 33,113 to Buck’s 21,151. There were 119 write-in votes. All results are unofficial until confirmed by the Bucks County Board of Elections.
A Warwick Township resident, Campi is an oncology nurse and president and office manager of E.P. Donnelly Inc. During her campaign, she said she hopes to address the opioid crisis, mental health concerns and overall public health.
Buck, an attorney and a long-serving nurse with the Red Cross, has been coroner since her election in 2020. She said she not only improved operations of the office, she also guided the coroner’s office through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Buck sued the Bucks County Commissioners, alleging they cut the Coroner’s Office budget for 2021 by $1,033,300, more than two-thirds of the office’s budget for the prior year.
In a statement at the time, Buck said the budget cut was “intentionally and outrageously irresponsible” and appeared to be “a heavy-handed attempt to punish” the Coroner’s Office.
The litigation is ongoing. The county has argued that “the Coroner’s budget has not been cut; it will be allocated in thirds for 2021. The Coroner is currently under budget. The Commissioners have a fiduciary responsibility to oversee the county budget, which includes the row offices. They manage that process publicly and to the letter of the law.”
Buck also faced criticism from the Bucks County Courier Times and the Intelligencer when she appealed a decision by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records that supported the news outlet’s efforts to gain access to records related to unclaimed remains.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
