Who is running for which town office, thus far

If you are planning to run for elective office in the Town of Chester, you’ll need to have your petitions, complete with signatures in to Town Hall by 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28. According to the Secretary of State’s office, you can print out a petition form from its site. “You don’t need to announce it. You don’t need to go into the office,” an elections administrator said.
CLARIFICATION: Chester Town Clerk Deb Aldrich said the candidate will also have to file a consent form that allows her to put their name on the ballot, which can be done anytime before the 28th.

Petitioners seeking money from the town budget will need to have their filled petitions in on Thursday, Jan. 24. Town Hall is located at 556 Elm St.

The deadline for registering to vote is 5 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the election. This year, Town Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, March 4 in Town Hall;  balloting will take place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday March 5, also in Town Hall.

Seeking office

As of Tuesday afternoon, three members of the Select Board whose terms end in March are seeking re-election: Tom Bock and Arne Jonynas, both seeking one-year terms; and Bill Lindsay seeking a three-year term.

In other offices, John DeBenedetti, who sits on the Select Board, is also seeking to become Town Grand Juror. According to the Secretary of State’s website, the town grand juror, “Helps to prosecute criminal offenses that occur in the town by giving information to state and local law enforcement. (Generally not a very active position.)”

Joan DeBenedetti is seeking to become Agent to Defend Suits, which, according to the Secretary of State, is “The town agent used to prosecute and defend suits. The selectboard now have that authority. Thus, the Town Agent’s duty consists merely of assisting when litigation is in progress at the request of the selectboard. (Generally not a very active position.)”

Deborah Trent is seeking to be re-elected as Lister, which the Secretary of State says, will “Appraise property within the town for the purpose of property tax assessment. Should be able to be polite, yet firm, and not be oversensitive to criticism.”

Phyllis Jewett is seeking the three-year position of Auditor. Kathy Pellett and David Lord are both running to serve as Trustee of the Whiting Library. And Erron Carey is seeking to serve as Trustee of Public Funds.

— Cynthia Prairie