School board candidate filing deadline is Feb. 26

Three seats are open

By Ruth Luse
   Hopewell Township and Hopewell Borough residents who plan to run for open seats on the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education have until the nominating petition filing deadline of 4 p.m. on Feb. 26 to make up their minds.
   The school board/budget election is April 17 this year.
   Hopewell Borough’s one seat, now held by Melvin Myers — who already has filed his nominating petition — also will be filled April 17. Mr. Myers originally was appointed to replace former member Steven Wood in September 2004 and received Hopewell’s OK in April 2005 to serve the remaining two years of Mr. Wood’s term.
   Two of Hopewell Township’s seven school board seats will be filled at the April 17 election. Holding those seats now are Kim Newport and Werner Graf.
   Ms. Newport originally was appointed to a school board seat in 1999, when she filled the unexpired term of Stanley Stolarski, who had resigned. Ms. Newport got the voters’ OK in April 2000 to complete the one year that remained of that term and was re-elected in 2004.
   Mr. Graf was appointed to the board in October 2005 to take the place of Michael Bruno, who resigned in August 2005. Mr. Graf was elected in April 2006 to serve the last year of Mr. Bruno’s term, which ends in April 2007.
   Pennington’s one seat, held by Kevin Doran, is not involved in this year’s election. He was re-elected last year to a three-year term, which ends in 2009.
   Those who win the three seats in April will serve three-year terms on the nine-member regional board.
   By law, those who want to file nominating petitions must obtain the signatures of at least 10 qualified voters living in the municipality they want to serve. One of the names can be the would-be candidate’s own. These petitions are available at the Administration Building, 425 S. Main St., Pennington.
   In addition, a would-be candidate must: be at least 18 year old; be a citizen of the United States; be a registered voter in Hopewell Township or Hopewell Borough (whichever applies); be able to read and write; have been a resident of Hopewell Township or Hopewell Borough (whichever applies) for at least one year preceding the date of the election; and not be directly/indirectly interested in any contract with or claim against the board.