By Jeanne Sager
SULLIVAN COUNTY — May 17, 2002 – One of the hottest seats in town may just be on the local school board this year.
Positions on the boards of education at all eight county districts are up for grabs this year – some bringing new faces to the political scene and others calling old standbys back to the school system.
The votes will be held May 21, coinciding with the approval of the districts’ 2002-03 budgets.
Following is a list of candidates for this year’s races:
Eldred
Vincent Zike is running unopposed this year to fill the shoes of retiring board President Norm Sutherland. Residents will be deciding whether to elect Zike to a five-year term.
Fallsburg
Two incumbents are hoping to return to their chairs on the Fallsburg Board of Education this year. Melvin Mednyck is running unopposed for his seat, and Robin Bedik will be competing against newcomer Terence “Scottie” O’Neill for her old position.
Hoping to replace board member Bruce Buckman will be Thomas Zuewsky and Kevin McDaniel.
The terms up for grabs will all be three years long.
Liberty
There are four people in Liberty running for three open positions on the school board. The three candidates with the most amount of votes will win an at-large seat on the board.
Voters will be able to cast their votes on newcomer James F. Donaghy and incumbents Francis “Frank” DeMayo, Robert DeStefano and Willis Olivo. Each term will last three years.
Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor residents will be facing a large ballot this year. Elliott Schneider, Daniel Taggart and Catherine Mead will be facing off for the vacant seat of incumbent James Powell for a three-year term.
Edna Simpson is “officially” running unopposed for Jeanne Shaver’s open seat.
However, Shaver and Powell are each running as write-in candidates because of a petition mishap last month. Livingston Manor’s incumbents have traditionally run for re-election without filing a list of resident signatures with the district clerk.
However this oversight was discovered by another candidate who pointed out that not filing a petition is illegal, even for incumbents. Shaver and Powell removed their names from the ballot rather than compromise the integrity of the race and have made it public knowledge that they are running as write-in candidates.
Monticello
Board members Richard Feller and Bob Rosengard will be running unopposed for re-election to their respective five-year terms this year.
Roscoe
Incumbents Philip Eggleton and Howard Huck Jr. will be running unopposed for three-year terms on the Roscoe Board of Education.
Sullivan West
Three seats have opened up on the nine-member Sullivan West Board of Education this year, each defended by an incumbent.
Board member Carol Nearing will be vying for her spot against resident Angela Daley, a former member of the Narrowsburg and Sullivan West boards of education. Incumbent Bill Erdman will be up against Jerry Smith to fill his three-year term, and board member Donna Sauer-Jones will face opponents Arthur Norden and Linda Pomes.
Tri-Valley
Incumbents George Dean and Scott Mickelson will run unopposed for their seats on the Tri-Valley Board of Education this year. Kathleen Denman is running alone to replace board member Timothy Smith. The terms will be three years for each.