Final April ballot set in Perry County; no refs
There will be no referendums on any Perry County local election ballot April 6.
The deadline for putting referendums on the ballot has passed, and no initiatives have been put forward, according to the Perry County Clerk's office.
Meanwhile, two write-in candidates have registered to run - one for Tamaroa District 5 and one for the Tamaroa Village Board. The write-in deadline passed on Feb. 4.
Here are the candidates for village boards, school boards and community college boards in Perry County:
<b>Community colleges</b>
John A. Logan College: Five candidates are vying for three, 6-year terms on the Logan board. They are incumbent members Jacob "Jake" Rendleman of Carterville and Glenn Poshard of Murphysboro, plus Brent Clark of Pittsburg; John Streuter of Carterville; and Angelo Hightower of Marion. Incumbent member Ray Hancock of Marion has pulled out of the election after filing his petitions to run, assuring there will be at least one new member of the Logan board.
Rend Lake College: Two, 6-year terms will be elected in April. Both incumbents have filed to run for reelection, Dr. David Asbery of Mt. Vernon and Jeff Jones of Whittington.
<b>School boards</b>
Du Quoin Unit District 300: This election is uncontested, as three candidates are running for three, 4-year seats on the school board. They are incumbent member Trent Waller and two newcomers, Steven M. Still and Amy E. Rose. Current members Dr. Patrick Riley and Mark Woodside are not running for reelection.
Pinckneyville District 204: Five candidates have filed to run for three, 4-year seats on the school board. They are Matthew D. Heine, Jackie Brand, Sean Carter, Brittany Goldman and James L. Williams. Of those, only Sean Carter is currently on the board.
Pinckneyville District 50: The election will be uncontested, as four candidates have filed for the available four, 4-year terms. They are Aaron Johnson, Gideon Hutchcraft, Austin Marlow and Kyle Pursell. All of them are currently on the school board.
Pinckneyville Community High School: An uncontested election, as four candidates are running for the four, 4-year available seats on the board. They are Brian Kellerman, Lisa Stanton, Curtis Miller and John Morgan. Kellerman and Stanton are both incumbents; Kellerman was first elected in 2009 and Stanton in 2013.
Tamaroa District 5: Charles Stein has filed to run as a write-in for the Tamaroa school board, meaning there are now enough candidates for all four available seats. The other three candidates who filed are Alaina D. Marlow, Mackenzie George and Sherri Phillips. George and Phillips are incumbents. Stein's name will not appear on the ballot and must be written in by voters.
<b>Villages</b>
The municipalities of Du Quoin and Pinckneyville have no offices up for election in April 2021. Those seats were all elected in 2019, and the next election for them is 2023.
However, the four Perry County villages all have elections in April.
Cutler: The village of Cutler will have a contested election for the village board, as five candidates are running for four open 4-year seats. The candidates for the 4-year seats are incumbents Brenda Conway, Shane Helvey and Melvin H. Carrothers, plus challengers Daniel B. Curry and Lisa Tindall. Meanwhile, a 2-year trustee seat will go to incumbent trustee Johnnie R. Masonn, as Masonn is the only candidate who filed to run for it. Mayor Joseph D. Loucks will also win reelection in April as he has no challengers.
St. Johns: Village President John Stanhope will win re-election on April 6, as no one filed to challenge him. The same is true for Village Clerk Marla Uhles and Trustee Ruth Hawkins. St. Johns has three, 4-year trustee seats open in the April election with one candidate (Hawkins) so the board will have to find two other trustees to appoint to the board after the election. Trustee Josh King is not running for reelection.
Tamaroa: With the write-in candidacy of former mayor Curtis Stube for trustee, all the seats will be filled on the Tamaroa village board after the election, although nothing will be contested. The village president will be William C. Place, the Clerk will be Cheryl Oettle and the trustees will be Mitch Brodbeck, Julie Zoeckler and Stube. Since Stube's name will not be on the ballot, voters will have to write him in.</h3>
Willisville: Village President Clarence Warner will win another four-year term on April 6, as no one has filed to challenge him for the job. The four, 4-year trustee positions will be filled without contest, by incumbents Amelia Fraemes and Tracy Reed, and newcomers John Hill and Jessica Jung. A 2-year trustee seat will go to Tonya Miller.