ADAMS TWP — There was a chilliness in the air at the polls Tuesday — and it didn't just have to do with the weather.

Some local voters might be able to compare campaigns run in the recent election cycle to national races run in recent years.

“The negative campaigning we see on state and national levels, we don't usually see,” said Al Lindsay, Butler County Republican Committee chairman.

Are these trickle-down politics affecting local races? And how are they changing political practices at the local level?

Voters in Mars Area School District had a ringside view of changing times during this election season.

“When people identify themselves with a party ... that's the way they're going (locally),” said Catherine Lalonde, Butler County Democratic Committee chairwoman.Two clear groups faced-off in the 2019 school board race in the Mars Area School District, where terms for five board seats expired.Sitting board member John Kennedy ran for re-election. The other four incumbents — Steven Boggs, Rebecca Brown, William Pettigrew and Bonnie Weaver — did not.Kennedy campaigned alongside conservative candidates Sallie Wick, Anthony DePretis and Kevin Hagen on one slate.Challenging the conservative candidates was a group called Mars Community Change that included both Republican and Democrat candidates. Megan Lenz, Jill Roda, John Neurohr, Bill Sommers and Jill Ceasar made up the group.“It was very organic,” Lenz — the only Mars Community Change candidate to win a spot on the board — said. “Very grassroots.”The group was formed by “concerned parents” and community members who wanted to change practices in the district, according to Neurohr.“We began asking questions about the way the school board was making decisions,” Neurohr said. “They branded us a threat from the start.”Lenz and Neurohr said they felt that from opposing candidates grow as the election season progressed.It came to a head when a letter issued by the Southwest Butler County Republican Committee to about 25 percent of district households linked Neurohr's past work experience to George Soros — a Hungarian-American investor described last week by The New York Times as a “billionaire philanthropist who funds an array of progressive causes.”

The real political arena is no longer Republican versus Democrat, according to county controller Ben Holland.Holland, whose wife ran in the primaries, represents Butler Republicans on the state committee.“It's the modern-day progressive,” Holland said. “Which really embodies more of a socialist movement.”Progressivism, according to Holland, is a case of the majority conforming to minority rule.“It's all billed under this 'nonpartisan' (label),” Holland said.“The school board races have always been nonpartisan,” Lenz said.Lenz explained she disagrees with Neurohr on many national political issues. She said that doesn't prevent her from being able to work with him.“John and I can disagree on a national level,” Lenz said. “But we can agree on the local things.”Neurohr, who is communications director for the PA Budget and Policy Center, said he was disappointed people could think otherwise.“I appreciate the engagement of citizens on both sides of the election,” Neurohr said.

For some voters, the polls had a different feel Tuesday.“There's no question that there's been a shift in the tone and tenor of local politics,” Neurohr said.Lalonde explained the whole election cycle felt more aggressive than normal.“It's just more ... partisan at every level,” Lalonde said. “Maybe that's the trickle-down.”Lindsay said discussions had in Washington, D.C., aren't having much of an effect on Butler voters.“The negative stuff about Donald Trump is not resonating in Butler County,” Lindsay said.Lindsay said he never saw an election cycle as negative as this year's, particularly in the county judicial race.He hopes future political candidates know Butler elections can't be bought with adverse advertisements.“In our country ... the norm appears to be these vicious, negative campaigns,” Lindsay said. “(The) answer always is, 'cause it wins.'”Though Lindsay said the BCRC didn't generate the Soros letter, it didn't stop the Southwest committee from issuing it.Lalonde found the letter linking Neurohr to Soros “disheartening.”“I don't think slander and lying about people are family values,” Lalonde said. “To say you're anti-American is about the lowest you can go.”

Lalonde and Holland agree some of the changes in local politics can be linked to exponential development in Butler County — specifically in the south. An influx of new residents is bound to bring changes, according to Lalonde.“Growth is good,” Holland said. “But you've just got to be very suspecting.”Lalonde said things like the Republican letter campaign executed during the election season employed “scare tactics.” 'George Soros' is trigger term for many voters.Neurohr views its use in the school board race as somewhat desperate.“When the debate is lost, or you want to avoid a legitimate debate altogether, folks often resort to straw man arguments,” Neurohr said.Lalonde has a similar sentiment.“Why does a billionaire have any interest in Mars School Board?” she asked.Holland said alleged connections between Neurohr and Soros aren't necessarily easy to find.“I'm not saying that ... there is a direct connection,” Holland said. “The guy's got a progressional connection.”The Eagle asked Neurohr if he was planted in Western Pennsylvania for purposes of working against the GOP on any level, as the letter alluded.“I cannot believe I have to answer this question,” Neurohr said. “But no.”

The Democratic committee will be returning to basics, according to Lalonde.“Getting back to grass -roots,” Lalonde said. “Just trying to keep it above board.”To Lalonde, this means building up the party by making in-person connections with voters.Lindsay said the Republican committee is already “gearing-up” for the 2020 presidential race. He said the local party feels somewhat obligated to carry neighboring counties when it comes to voting.“We're trying to increase our organization,” Lindsay said.Is local politics changing in Butler County? That depends on where you're standing.Lindsay believes historically conservative political leanings will remain intact, at least through the 2020 election.“I think that will largely depend on how vocal the residents are,” Holland said. “I think you're going to see national influence through concerted efforts.”“I predict things are going to get uglier,” Lalonde said. “But there won't be any lying and slander on my part.”