Slew of candidates needed for local positions this fall

Submitted by paula on Wed, 07/06/2016 - 5:42pm

The City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Lake Tahoe Community College and South Tahoe Public Utility District have all released advertisements, press releases and emails to the public, looking for candidates for their open seats this election season.

There will be two open seats for City Council, three seats for LTUSD School Board of Trustees, two for LTCC Board of Trustees, and two for the STPUD Board of Directors. All will be voted on during the next election, November 8, 2016.

Ads for the City's open council seats for 2016 are identical to an ad campaign they held just two years ago when three council seats were open. At that time, seven candidates vied for the seats: Wendy David, Austin Sass, Tom Davis, Brooke Laine, Angela Swanson, Matt Palacio and Bruce Grego. This year, seats currently held by Hal Cole and JoAnn Conner are open.

The monthly compensation for the four-year term is $946, plus council members and dependents are also eligible for City medical/dental benefits and are enrolled in the California Public Employees Retirement System (PERS).

During the last election, the City Clerk and City Treasurer were also decided.

LTUSD School Board has open seats via the adopted system of “Elections by-Trustee-Areas.” This means, the candidates need to live in the areas of the open seats. Area #1 seat held by Adam Jones, Area #3 seat held by Dr. Michael Doyle, and the Area #4 seat held by Dr. Larry Green are all up for election.

For STPUD, there are two open seats on their Board of Directors. When elected, board members receive the district's medical, dental and vision benefits along with $400 per month. The seats held by Randy Vogelgesang and Kelly Sheehan will be on the ballot.

Over at Lake Tahoe Community College, Dr. Fritz Wenck already announced his is retiring from the board after being on it for 42 years, and current trustee Dr. Karen Borges will seek reelection. Just like LTUSD, candidates for the trustee positions must live in the area the open seat encompasses. Trustees for Area 3 and 4 will be voted on in November. The Board voted to not have monetary compensation for the position.