November 23, 2006

By Diane Chiddister

This week Yellow Springs Village Council President Jocelyn Hardman announced that, as of Council’s next meeting on Dec. 4, she is resigning from Council. Elected in 2003, her term lasts until November 2007.

Work and school demands prompted her move, according to Hardman, who published a letter in this week’s News about her resignation.

In an interview Monday, Hardman said she had considered stepping down for the past two months, but wanted to stay on Council through the campaign for Issue 21, the 8.4 mill property tax levy which Council placed on the Nov. 7 ballot.

“There was such a lot riding on the levy, and I wanted to do as much as I could,” she said.

As of this week, Issue 21 is still a statistical tie; the official count in Greene County will be finished on Nov. 28.

Hardman’s work demands increased significantly this fall when she took a job as visiting assistant professor at Antioch College, she said. Prior to that, she had taught one class a quarter at Ohio State University while working to complete her doctorate there. This summer, Hardman’s doctoral advisor told her she would need to spend at least 20 hours a week collecting data for her dissertation, which she needs to finish in the spring. According to Hardman, that amount of time seemed workable until she took the Antioch job, which required teaching five classes a week rather than one.

“My work load increased exponentially,” she said.

But she wanted to take the job anyway, Hardman said, because it’s a good fit with her academic background and it’s located in Yellow Springs.

After Hardman officially resigns Dec. 4, Council has 30 days to choose her successor. There is no mandate for how Council must do so, according to Hardman, who said in the past, Council has sometimes asked for applications and interviewed candidates. Most recently, with the resignation of Mary Alexander shortly after the 2005 Council election, Council appointed Kathryn Chase, the candidate for Council who received the next highest number of votes after elected members Judith Hempfling, Karen Wintrow and Bruce Rickenbach. The 2005 candidate with the next highest vote count after Chase is Frank Doden, but Hardman said she doubted Council would choose him as her replacement since the election was a year ago.

Council will also decide Dec. 4 how to fill the position of president, Hardman said. Karen Wintrow is currently the vice-president of Council.

Any villager interested in applying for Village Council should submit a letter of interest and resume to Clerk of Council.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com