Four file to run for two Town Council seats 

(7/24) Two seats on the Emmitsburg Town Board of Commissioners will be up for election in October, with four candidates vying for the seats.

Town Clerk Donna DesPres said that the two seats, currently being held by commissioners Patrick A. Joy and Jim Hoover, are three-year terms.

The four candidates who have registered to run include incumbent Patrick Joy, former Commissioner Glenn Blanchard, former Commissioner Joyce A. Rosensteel, and town Parks and Recreation member Jennifer L. Mellor.

Six candidates initially registered to run, but two, Rosario Benvengi and former Commissioner Denise Eileen Etris, have withdrawn.

Hoover has previously served as a town commissioner and mayor, but lost his mayoral seat to current Mayor Bon Brigs in the 2011 election.

He was appointed earlier this year to finish out the term of Commissioner Glen E. Blanchard following that commissioner’s resignation, but has not filed to run for reelection to the board.

Joy was elected to his first term on the board in 2010, and would thus be running for his second term as a commissioner.

Blanchard was elected to the board of commissioners in 2005 to finish out the term of resigned Commissioner Dianne L. Walbrecker, and continued to serve as a commissioner until his resignation earlier this year.

Former Commissioner Rosensteel, who had served as a commissioner since 2002, was defeated in the same election in which Blanchard was elected.

Mellor is the only candidate who has not previously served on the board of commissioners, but has served on the town parks and Recreation Committee. Prior to her serving on the town committee, she served as the program director for the Westminster Recreation and Activities Department.

The town election will be held October 1, and voters can cast their ballots between 7 a.m. and 8 pm. At the former town hall, now serving as the community deputy office, at 22 East Main Street.

Commission members are compensated $4,000 annually. The mayoral position, which is not up for reelection, is compensated at $8,000 annually.

Candidates elected to either of the two seats will sworn-in and assume their position on the town Board of Commissioners on October 7.