Souderton area primary candidates listed

Last year was all about national and state elections. This year, it’s local. The primary elections, in which Republicans and Democrats vote to determine their party’s candidates in the election, will be on May 18. The general election, in which the winning candidates are chosen, will be Nov. 2.

Unofficial candidate lists from the Montgomery County website list the following candidates in the primaries.

For the Souderton Area School Board, where four four-year terms are up for grabs, there are five candidates — William J. Brong, Janet Flisak, Andrew D.

Landis, Stephen Nelson and Scott P. Swindells.

School board members are allowed to cross-file on both party ballots in the primary, which all five candidates did. The top four vote getters from each party in the primary elections will move on to the general election.

In Franconia Township, where the vote is for two sixyear terms on the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors, Jill Halteman and Robert H. Nice are on the Republican ballot. There are no Democrats on the ballot in the primary election.

In Lower Salford Township, the election is for one six-year term on the Lower Salford Township Board of Supervisors. Gail Comden is on the Democratic ballot and David M. Scheuren is on the Republican ballot in the primary.

In Salford Township, the vote is for one six-year term on the Salford Township Board of Supervisors. James Myers is on the Republican primary election ballot. There is no Democratic candidate in the primary election.

In Souderton Borough, a four-year term for mayor and five four-year terms on Souderton Borough Council will be voted on. Two of the council seats are in Ward 1, one in Ward 2 and two in Ward 3. In Ward 1, Richard Detwiler and Richard Kelly are on the Democratic ballot in the primaries and Matthew Dinenna is on the Republican ballot. In Ward 2, Michael Pipe is on the Democratic ballot and Tracy W. Burke on the Republican

ballot. In Ward 3, Ginny Vandenburg is on the Democratic ballot and Edward M. Huber and Courtnee L. Wampole are on the Republican ballot.

There is no candidate listed on the primary ballot for the mayor’s position. Current council member Dan Yocum, however, has announced that he is running as an Independent. As an Independent, he cannot file nominating papers to be on either of the party ballots in the primary election. He is seeking write-in votes from both parties in the primary to put him on the ballot for both parties in November.

In Telford Borough, a four-year term for mayor and three four-year terms and one two-year term on Telford Borough Council will be voted on. There are no political wards in Telford; the council positions are at-large. Bill Gottshall, Nicole Spiese and John A. Taylor are the four-year council candidates on the Democratic ballot in the primary. Miles Arnott and Emiline I. Weiss are the four-year candidates in the Republican primary. Jeffrey Maxwell is the two-year candidate in the Republican primary. There is no candidate on the Democratic ballot for the two-year seat.

Jerry Guretse is on the ballot for mayor in the Republican primary. There is no candidate on the Democratic ballot.

In Upper Salford Township, the election is for one six-year term on the Upper Salford Township Board of Supervisors. Richard Sacks is on the ballot in the Republican

primary. There is no candidate on the Democratic ballot.

Other local positions being voted on this year include constable, auditor and tax collector.

In the municipal races, candidates cannot crossfile in the primary elections. They can only be on the primary ballot as a Republican or as a Democratic party candidate. They could, however, with write-in primary election votes, be on both ballots in the fall.

This list was compiled from the unofficial candidate list as of March 21. Candidates who filed a nominating petition to be in the primary elections could withdraw until March 24, in which case their name would not appear on the ballot in the primaries.