Athens Village elections set
The Daily Mail
Jan. 30, 2009
Green, Halsted, June and Sopris vying for 2 trustee seats; Smallwood unopposed; Pfister bows out

ATHENS — Democratic and Republican party members have spoken.

They gathered in caucuses to nominate candidates for Athens Village Board of Trustees and mayor’s office.

Republican nominees Richard Green and Arlene Halsted and will face Democrats Bob June and incumbent Trustee Tom Sopris in an at-large election for the two board positions. The top two vote-getters win the seats.

Trustee Chris Pfister announced that he is not seeking re-election.

Incumbent Mayor Andrea Smallwood has no challenger in her re-election bid.

Trustees Herman Reinhold and Tim O’Leary do not face re-election until 2010.

Several candidates said they expected to take part in a civil race this spring.

Green, who ran unsuccessfully for trustee last year, was selected again for the Republican ticket.

Green says his loss has only made him a more viable candidate this year because he has some name recognition.

He said he is worried about the toll the economy will take on the community.

“We have got to be fiscally responsible in the village,” he said.

Green said he also wants to make sure that the new zoning rules are implemented in an open manner.

He said that he expects this spring’s election to be a clean one, without any mudslinging

Halsted said Thursday that she is running because she is concerned about the future of the village.

“Athens is starting to look like a ghost town,” she said.

She said that she wants to make sure that in the future the community can offer activities and opportunities that her grandchildren will be able to enjoy.

Sopris said he wants to continue working with the board on a number of issues facing the community, including solving the drainage problem. He said that the board has worked well together for the last year.

“I think the board has done a good job on holding the line on taxes,” he said.

Sopris was first elected in 2007.

June narrowly defeated Phyllis Dinkelacker at the caucus for the seat being vacated by Pfister.

Pfister said he decided that it was time to step back from the board and he is not sure of his next direction.

“I haven’t given up the idea of serving in another capacity,” he said.

He said that he was glad that a new firehouse was constructed and a new truck was financed during his tenure.

Smallwood said Pfister had done a lot for the community but that her running mates will make great trustees.

She said she will still campaign, even though she has no challenger.

“You can’t sit back and say I don’t have to answer to the Village,” she said.

She said meeting constituents during a campaign is important.

“You get to hear about what everyone is concerned about,” she said.