Supervisor seat not included on Great Bend ballot

BY STACI WILSON

Great Bend residents should be able to elect a supervisor in this year’s election. But, so far, the listing for the open position doesn’t appear on the ballot.

At the July 27 election board meeting, chair Rick Ainey said a township resident had asked him to look into the situation.

The county received the official ballot list from the township but the position was not listed.

The confusion seems to lie in the seat currently held by supervisor Walt Galloway.

Galloway was appointed to fill a vacancy; then ran for a four-year term, instead of a two-year term in 2009, township supervisor Sheila Guinan said at the Aug. 1 township meeting.

Guinan said the township was advised by its solicitor to have the election cycle corrected during the 2013 municipal election.

But township solicitor Michael Giangrieco disagreed with the supervisor. He said, on Tuesday, the matter can be corrected on the ballot this November.

According to county director of elections Laura Watts a letter was sent to the township regarding the matter but the county has not yet received a reply. A six-year supervisor position should always appear on a township ballot in a municipal election year,Wattssaid.

Ainey said he just wanted the election board to be on record that the county did attempt to resolve the matter prior to the election.

Ainey said that if he were a township resident he would worry about decisions made by someone who was not duly elected to the seat.

There is time, however, for the township to address the issue and have the supervisor position appear on this November’s ballot,Wattssaid.

Locations of two polling places were also changed by the election board.

JacksonTownshipvoters will now cast ballots at the municipal building located at310 Mill Rd.,Jackson, beginning with the Nov. 8 election instead of theMethodistChurch.

In addition to Ainey, the two other members of the election board are Gary Marcho and Thomas Charles.