June 14, 2007

By Diane Chiddister

Three seats on Yellow Springs Village Council and the mayor’s position will be open this November, and those interested in running have a little over two months to file for the election.

The filing deadline for the Nov. 6 election is Thursday, Aug. 23, according to Nancy Johannes of the Greene County Board of Elections in an interview last week.

To run, a candidate needs to pick up a petition at the board office, and have it signed by a minimum of 35 registered Yellow Springs voters. The board office suggests that those seeking office turn in twice the required number of signatures, or about 70, just to be safe, she said. Those running for office must also pay a filing fee of $30 at the time of filing.

The two highest vote-getters for Council seats will be elected to four-year terms, while the third highest vote-getter will serve for two years.

Village Council seats open this November are those currently occupied by Bruce Rickenbach, Kathryn Chase and Kathryn Van der Heiden.

Rickenbach was elected to office in November 2005. As the third largest vote getter behind Judith Hempfling and Karen Wintrow, Rickenbach was elected to a two-year term. Asked if he plans to run, Rickenbach said last week that he had “no comment.”

Chase also ran in 2005 and, as the fourth largest vote-getter, was not elected to Council, which had only three open seats. However, she was appointed by Council to a seat shortly after the election when Mary Alexander announced her resignation from Council. Chase last week said that she is undecided as to whether she will run again.

Van der Heiden, the sixth largest vote-getter in 2005, was appointed to the seat in January 2007 after former Council President Jocelyn Hardman resigned, citing increased job responsibilities. Last week Van der Heiden said she does intend to run in the November election.

Yellow Springs Mayor Dave Foubert said last week that he intends to run for reelection. He is currently serving his eighth term as the mayor of the village.

The Greene County Board of Elections is located at 651 Dayton-Xenia Road, Xenia.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com