Lilly Gioia Appointed Forks Newest Supervisor

Christopher Baxter (The Morning Call) reported that the Forks Board of Supervisors voted 3:1 (Chuss cast the nay) to appoint Lilly Gioia to replace Michele Rogers who resigned officially as of May 6th. The nomination was made by Supervisor Robert Egolf who expressed his opinion that the next highest vote getter in the 2009 election should get the nod.

Ms. Gioia's appointment will last through January 1 following the 2011 Municipal Election. At that election, others, including Ms. Gioia, may run for the seat and the one who wins will serve for four years, the balance of Ms. Rogers' term.

Congratulations to Lilly Gioia.

Newly elected Forks Supervisor resigns

According to two May 5, 2010 online articles one in The Morning Call (Christopher Baxter) and the other in the Express-Times (staff), newly elected Supervisor Michele Rogers has resigned from the Forks Township Board of Supervisors.  Supervisor Chuss is quoted extensively in both articles and gives different reasons than Ms. Rogers for the resignation.

Update 5/6/10:  Both newspapers have print edition articles with more details.  See Christopher Baxter (The Morning Call) and Tony Nauroth (Express-Times).

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd

The polls in PA are open from 7 AM to 8 PM.  At stake in this year's municipal elections are judgeships, county council seats, county executive slots, school board seats and of
course, right here in Forks, two Supervisor positions. 

Check out the FAC Forks specific election page so see who's running for what and
Don't forget to vote!

You met the candidates!

Reprinted from the FAC website:  The Forks Elementary School PTA hosted a "Meet the Candidates" night on October 13.  Nine local Forks candidates (Supervisor, Tax Collector, and School Board) addressed the public and answered questions. 

There were approximately 75 Forks voters in the audience.  Topics covered included taxes, Township takeover of private roads, the need for fiscal austerity, recreation, and the importance of candidates' familiarity with local Township issues (such as the alleged Path of Growth). 

For more on the event, please read Tom De Martini's Morning Call coverage.

PA Senate race - Mensch wins special election

Reprinted from the FAC website 9/30/09:  The 24th PA Senatorial District voted on Tuesday and elected Robert Mensch (R) to replace Rob Wonderling (R) as their PA Senator.  Mensch won by an overwhelming margin. The official totals are not yet published but the Philadelphia Inquirer reports it as a 2/3 victory.

Special Election - Tuesday, September 29th

On September 29th Forks voters have the opportunity to participate in a special election to fill former PA Senator Wonderling's District 24 seat.  District 24 is comprised of parts of Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties.

Two candidates have stepped forward.  Their campaign websites are linked here.  Click on their names below to learn more about Scheuring and Mensch. 

Anne Henning Scheuring (D)
Robert B. Mensch (R)

Voting will take place at your regular polling places.  Polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM.

Municipal Primary Day is Tuesday!

Registered Republicans - Registered Democrats - This is it.  This is your chance to select the State Judges and Municipal candidates who will appear on the November ballot.  There are no other Primaries this year. 

In November, every registered voter will select from the candidates that you pick on Tuesday.  That's a lot of power.  Don't sit it out.  Vote on Tuesday, May 19th.  The polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM.

If you are still unsure who will get your votes, please visit the FAC Primary webpage.  All the candidates' names that Forks voters will see on their ballots are listed.  There are links to the LVLWV 2009 Voters Guide as well as links to articles by or about the candidates - and, if they have a website or blog, they are linked.

Again, don't sit it out.  Learn about the candidates and use your power wisely.  November will be here before you know it and then, all registered voters will count on you to have made the best Primary choices for them.

The Primary is only two weeks away

May 19th is the big day.  The polls open at 7 AM and close at 8 PM.  There are four voting locations in Forks. If you are not sure where your polling place is, check this PA Department of State polling place locator. 

If you have not quite made up your mind about who gets your precious votes, check the LVLWV Voter's Guide and the F.A.C. 2009 Primary webpage.  Also, the Express Times has an online voter's guide. 

Of the three sources, only the F.A.C. 2009 Primary page is Forks-centric.  Not only are your specific candidates for State and local judgeships listed, you will find candidates for Easton Area School Board Region 3, Forks Supervisor, Tax Collector, Elected Auditor, Constable, Judge of Election, Inspector of Election, County Executive, and County Council.  Candidate websites/blogs are linked.  Articles about the candidates and their messages to Forks voters are there as well.

F.A.C. has tried to make this as complete a Forks voter resource as possible.  It should eliminate some of the guesswork at the polling place and make you the best informed voters out there!

Don't dawdle, there is much to explore on the F.A.C. 2009 Primary page.  The countdown clock is ticking.

Forks Supervisors' Primary contest - Missing Democrats found!

Two Democratic candidates have declared as write-ins for the Forks Supervisors May Primary bringing the field to seven candidates for two openings.  Democrats Lilly Gioia and James Wideman will have their work cut out for them since their names will not appear on the ballot.

In fact, there will be no names on the Democratic Supervisors Primary ballot.  The incumbents, Bonnie Nicholas and Don Miller did not make their decisions to not to seek re-election known until after the March 10th petition filing deadline had passed. 

The press release put out by the Forks Township Democratic Committee, a subcommittee of the Northampton County Democratic Party, states that both Gioia and Wideman have the local committee's endorsement. 

There are five candidates on the Republican ballot - and all went through the signature gathering and paperwork process to get there.  The Republican contenders are David Billings, Henning Holmgaard, Michelle Rodgers, Simon Sikora, and Kevin Wall.

Gioia and Wideman will be asking Forks registered Democratic voters to write in their names on May 19th. 

For a listing of all Forks voters' Primary ballot choices, see the FAC Primary page.  For newspaper coverage of the write-in candidates' announcement, see Christopher Baxter (Morning Call) and Tony Nauroth (Express Times).

Forks Democratic candidates for Supervisor - among the missing

Christopher Baxter's recent Two Rivers Daily blog post (Morning Call) says it all:  "Where are Forks Twp Democrats?"  There are no bona fide Democratic candidates - that is none who have gone through the formal process and filed signature laden (kidding, only 10 signatures are needed) petitions with the Northampton County Voters Office. 

Baxter reports that local Forks Democratic Party leadership is now actively exploring what can be done to keep the May 19th Primary from becoming a de facto general election and of course, to keep this from happening again. 

There are two seats open on the Forks Board of Supervisors and there are five declared Republican candidates.  With no Democratic candidates, it is conceivable that the two candidates who win in the Republican Primary will be the only two candidates on the November ballot and therefore, Forks newest Supervisors.

It's "wait and see" as to what the Forks Democratic Party leadership is able to muster at this, the eleventh hour. 

Announcing the FAC Primary page

To help Forks voters learn more about the candidates they will select in the Municipal Primary on May 19th, the FAC website now features a Forks-centric Primary page.  The page contains a listing of candidates for Forks offices, for Easton Area School Board Region III, and for all candidates for the judges races, from the PA Supreme Court down to our own Magisterial District. 

The page is under construction and will be updated regularly.  There is a link to it on the FAC blog (see Links in the left hand sidebar) and in the upper right corner of the FAC homepage.

Informed voters are better voters!

Republican Voters will have all the fun at the May Primary as they alone elect the two newest Forks Supervisors

Forks Republican voters have five candidates for the two open slots on the Forks Board of Supervisors.  Democratic voters have none.

The Express Times and the Morning Call published articles listing the Municipal Primary candidates.  Forks Supervisors Bonnie Nicholas and Don Miller were not on the list.  Neither filed nominating petitions and neither are seeking re-election.  Both are Democrats.

No matter what these two Supervisors' reasons for not running, Forks registered Democrats are left without candidates in the Municipal Primary.  It will be Forks Republican voters who decide who the next Supervisors will be and it will be done in the Republican Primary.

Forks Tax Collector - so far, it's the one hot race!

Reprinted from the FAC website, March 1, 2009:

Two candidates have officially declared for the Forks elected Tax Collector position.  The new candidates are Wendy Buchanan (D) and Anne Bennett-Morse (R).  As you can see from their (linked) press announcements, both candidates are long-time Forks residents and both have financial accounting backgrounds. 

Interest in the tax collector race even caught the attention of the Morning Call's Christopher Baxter.  Please see his February 27th article for more.

And, although the incumbent, June Vail (R), has not formally announced her candidacy, the Morning Call's Christopher Baxter reported that she "vows" to run again.

Upcoming Municipal Primary Election

What's wrong with this picture? - Missing candidates!

The 2009 Municipal Primary Election in Forks Township offers opportunities for Forks voters to effectively change the "old guard."  Will it happen?  Maybe not.  You see, there's a problem - there are more openings than there are declared candidates.  Of course, the formal candidates' filings are not due until March 10th.  The paperwork/packets are available now at the Northampton County Voters Office.  Signature collection officially begins on February 17th. 

Easton Area School District - Region III (4 year term):  Forks Township is represented by Region III of the Easton Area School Board.  Forks voters will be electing two members in the upcoming November election.  One of the incumbents, Randolph Mahl, has announced that he will not seek re-election and the other, Pam Millen-Eustis, has announced that she will.  So far, no other candidates have announced for Region III. 

Forks Board of Supervisors (6 year term):  There are two seats up for grabs and to date, only one announced candidate, David Billings (R).  The incumbents, Bonnie Nicholas (D) and Don Miller (D) have yet to announce.

Forks Township Elected Tax Collector (4 year term):  One seat and no announced candidates.  June Vail (R), the incumbent, has yet to make her intentions known.

Forks Elected Auditors (6 year term):  One seat, that of incumbent Elizabeth Casapulla, and no announced candidates.

Forks registered voters, you still have time to make a difference and run for one of these offices!  All the information you need to be on the Municipal Primary ballot is available now from the Northampton County Voters Office. 

There's no time to waste.  You know you can make a difference. 

Candidates - come out, come out, wherever you are!

Candidates for local municipal offices are beginning to declare their intentions to run in the 2009 Primary.  So far in Forks Township, only David Billings (R) has made a formal announcement of his intention to run for Supervisor.  On January 30th The Morning Call's Christopher Baxter broke the story on the Two Rivers Daily blog.  The incumbents have yet to announce.

Time is getting short for making up your mind to run.  The required paperwork will be available at the Northampton County Elections Office the week of February 9th.  Candidates may begin collecting signatures on February 17th and completed petitions must be turned in by March 10th.  The Municipal Primary will be held on May 19th.  Check the 2009 PA election calendar for even more deadlines/dates.

Wondering which Forks positions are up for election?  On November 3rd voters will decide on two Supervisors, one Real Estate Tax Collector, and one Elected Auditor. 

If you are on the fence about whether or not to run in 2009, it is definitely time to commit.  One of the newly elected Forks individuals could be you.   And, heck, there is no filing fee for the Forks slots!

Election 2008 over - Election 2009 begins

Thinking about running for one of the two upcoming vacancies on the Forks Board of Supervisors?  There is good  news for you this month.  It might even get you off of the fence and into the ring. 

On Saturday, November 22nd the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County and the League of Women Voters of Northampton County are hosting a workshop on running for local office in 2009.  It will be held at Northampton Community College, in the Kiva room, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 (continental breakfast included).  There is a $45 charge to cover their costs - a workbook is included.

For more information on this highly acclaimed (by successful candidates) workshop, please see the workshop brochure.  And, get off that fence!