August 18, 2005

With just one week before the filing deadline for candidates running for office this fall, it appears that most races are likely to be competitive.

The Board of Elections reported on early Tuesday afternoon that several local residents had filed for three of the four local races over the last week.

Only the race for the Yellow Springs mayor’s position has just one candidate seeking office, the incumbent, David Foubert.

The ballot on Election Day, which is Nov. 8, will also list three positions on both Village Council and the Yellow Springs school board and two seats on the Miami Township Board of Trustees.

The deadline to file to get on the ballot is Thursday, Aug. 25, at 4 p.m. Nominating petitions must be turned in to the Greene County Board of Elections, 651 Dayton-Xenia Road in Xenia. There is a $30 filing fee.

Official petitions to run for Council or the Yellow Springs mayor’s position are available outside the Council room in the Bryan Community Center, with Clerk of Council Deborah Benning and at the Greene County Board of Elections office.

Petitions for Council or mayor must be signed by at least 35 registered voters from Yellow Springs.

Petitions for school board and the Miami Township Board of Trustees are available at the Board of Elections. Petitions for the Board of Education and Township trustee must have 25 valid signatures of registered voters

On Tuesday, an employee at the Board of Elections office reported that three people had filed to run for Council: current Council member Bruce Rickenbach and villagers Kathryn Chase and Karen Wintrow. Rickenbach’s petition was verified by the board, while the board had not verified the signatures of the petitions from Wintrow and Chase. Frank Doden took out a petition to run for Council but had not yet filed. Because petitions to run for Council and mayor are available outside the Council chambers it is difficult to track who may be circulating petitions for those Village positions.

Rickenbach was appointed to Council in April, filling a vacancy created when George Pitstick resigned. The other seats on Council that will be available this fall are held by Tony Arnett, the Council president, and Denise Swinger. Arnett is resigning from Council by the end of September because he is moving to Wisconsin. Swinger has said that she will not seek re-election.

The two candidates in the Council contest who receive the most votes on Election Day will receive four-year terms, and the candidate receiving the third highest number of votes will receive a two-year term. The top three finishers in the Council race will join Mary J. Alexander and Jocelyn Hardman, both of whom were elected in 2003, on Council.

David Foubert has filed a petition, which the Board of Elections has verified, to seek his eighth term in office as the mayor of Yellow Springs.

The mayor is recognized as the official head of the Village for all ceremonial purposes and oversees Mayor’s Court. The mayor may attend Council meetings and participate in discussions, though the mayor cannot vote.

Four people have had their petitions verified by the Board of Elections in the school board race: incumbent Angela Wright and challengers Anne Erickson, Aida Merhemic and David Triplett. Terry Whorton took out petitions but had not filed.

The winners of the school board race will join Rich Bullock, the board president, and Richard Lapedes. Officials elected to the school board serve four-year terms. Current school board members Mary Campbell-Zopf and Bill Firestone do not intend to seek re-election.

There’s plenty of interest in the race for Miami Township trustee, although only two candidates, incumbents Mark Crockett and Lamar Spracklen, have filed petitions, which were verified by the Board of Elections. David Heckler, Suzanne Patterson and John Struewing have taken out petitions but had not yet filed for the trustees contest.

The top two finishers in the trustee race will receive four-year terms and join Chris Mucher, who was re-elected in 2003, on the board.