Mountain Village Holds Town Council Candidate Forum June 7

The Town of Mountain Village will hold a Town Council Candidate Forum Wednesday, June 7 beginning at 5:15 p.m. at Mountain Village Town Hall. Wilkinson Public Library will moderate the event. There will be a candidate meet and greet starting at 5:15 p.m. followed by candidate introductions at 6:00 p.m. The format will include opening statements by each candidate and two questions pertinent to the election prepared by library staff. Each candidate will be given a specified amount of time to answer each question. To close, the moderator will ask for written questions from the audience if time permits. The Forum will be streamed live at townofmountainvillage.com/video and available to watch on-demand immediately following the event. The Town of Mountain Village Regular Municipal Election will take place June 27 to elect three Town Council Members. Ten candidates declared their candidacy for the upcoming election, and are listed on the ballot in this order: Paul Oupadia, Suse Connolly, Marla Meridith, David Schillaci, Jack Gilbride, Angela R. Pashayan, Natalie Binder, Richard Child, Jonathan Greenspan, and Patrick L. Berry. To learn more about each candidate, visit http://townofmountainvillage.com/candidates. The three Town Council seats up for election are currently held by councilmembers Cath Jett, Marty McKinley and Michelle Sherry. Jett is termed out after serving two, four-year terms. She first served on Council in 2009 and as mayor pro-tem from July 2013 to June 2015. Councilmember McKinley has decided not to pursue a second term and has served as mayor pro-tem since July 2015. He joined Council in March of 2014 by appointment, filling the seat of former Councilmember Richard Child. Sherry, who is eligible to serve another four-year term, decided not to run for a second term. She was first elected to serve on Council in 2013. The last regular municipal election held in 2015 had one of its biggest turn outs with 13 candidates vying for four open seats. Once elected, the new Council will convene July 20. Ballots will be mailed to registered voters between June 5 and June 12, and may be returned either by mail or in person to Town Hall, located at 455 Mountain Village Blvd., on or before June 27 to be counted. On Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.