Election 2017: Jim Thorpe area races

There are only two contested races on the municipal and school district levels in the Jim Thorpe area in the general election on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

One contest exists in Penn Forest Township where two people are running for one six-year term on the board of supervisors and the other race features five people running for four four-year terms on the Jim Thorpe Area School District Board of Education.

Elsewhere in the Jim Thorpe area, the voters are expected to seat a magisterial district judge and positions in Jim Thorpe borough and Penn Forest and Kidder townships, but the balloting for those positions shows no challenges.

Here’s what voters in this part of the county can expect:

Penn Forest Twp.

The race for the six-year term as supervisor is between Democrat Roger L. Meckes and Republican Tom Cross.

Meckes is also a candidate for a two-year term on the board that exists, but he is unopposed in that balloting.

Township voters will vote to fill a four-year term as tax collector, where Democrat Josiah Behrens III is unopposed, and a six-year term on the board of auditors. There are no candidates for that post.

Jim Thorpe School Board

There are six school board seats to be filled on the Jim Thorpe board, including the four for four-year terms and two other two-year terms, for which there is no contest.

In the balloting for the four-year terms, three of the five candidates are cross-filed on the Democratic and Republican tickets. They are Gerald Strubinger, Ron Marciante and Dennis J. McGinley Jr. In essence, the fourth position is between Democrat John P. Ciavarella Jr. and Republican Glenn F. Confer Sr.

For the two two-year terms, Marciante’s name appears on both ballots while Wilmer P. Redline Jr. joins him on the Democratic ticket.

The district includes Jim Thorpe Borough, Penn Forest Township and the South District of Kidder Township.

Jim Thorpe borough

There are no contests in Jim Thorpe borough, although all of the positions up for grabs have sufficient candidates.

Mayor Michael J. Sofranko, a Republican, is seeking another four-year term and appears to be headed to re-election inasmuch as he is also on the Democratic ballot by virtue of the write-in balloting in May.

In the borough council race, four four-year terms will be decided and there are only four candidates on the ballot. They include Democrats Edith Lukasevich and Joanne Klitsch, who both gained enough write-in votes from the Republicans in May to get their names on both tickets. The other two candidates are Democrats Thomas Highland and Gregory Strubinger.

Tax collector Terry M. McElmoyle, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to another four-year term. He too is unopposed.

Kidder Township

There are no races in Kidder Township as two people are running for two six-year terms on the board of supervisors. They are Thomas L. Bradley Sr., whose name appears on both ballots, and Larry Polansky, a GOP candidate.

The township’s tax collector, Kim M. Ginopolas, is seeking re-election to another four-year term. A Democrat, she is unchallenged.

Township voters are also expected to fill a six-year term on the board of auditors, but there are no candidates for the position.

Magisterial judge

Voters in Jim Thorpe and Penn Forest Township will participate in the balloting for the six-year term as magisterial district judge (magistrate) in District 56-3-01. Eric M. Schrantz, who was appointed to the office upon the retirement of his stepfather-in-law, Edward M. Lewis, is running unopposed for the position, having been unopposed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots in the May primary.

The district includes Jim Thorpe, Lehighton and Weissport borough, Penn Forest Township and the Packerton/Jamestown district in Mahoning Township.