Village Elections taking place around the county on Tuesday

On Tuesday, March 21, village elections will be taking place around Tioga County. Here are a couple of highlights of some contested races.

In Owego, the Village election will take place from noon to 9 p.m. at the Central Fire Station located on North Avenue.

In the Village of Owego, there are five candidates vying for three trustee seats. 

The two parties include the Oak Tree Party, in which Phoebe Morris will run for re-election in Ward 1 along with Mike Baratta, who is running against Rob Manville in Ward 2.

The other party is the Taxpayers First Party. The party includes Trustee Rob Manville, who is running for re-election in Ward 2, along with Ken Hanson and Nick Ruiz, who are running to represent Wards 1 and 3, respectively.

For Morris, she is an outspoken trustee in regards to the filling of positions within the Village, mainly the number of police officers that the Owego Police Department is staffed with. 

Morris referred to the village as being “nibbled away by ducks.”

She stated, “As a Village, we have spent many years keeping taxes at or near zero by continuously cutting people and de-funding departments. Our problems need real solutions, like ensuring that Village departments have enough staff to do the jobs we are asking them to do.”

From the other party, Rob Manville, who is running for re-election, cited all of the accomplishments achieved by the Taxpayers First Party and under the current Mayor’s administration.

Manville talked about his reasons for running for a trustee seat again, stating, “Our village board has gotten stronger and more focused on the key issues over the last year under the leadership of Mayor Steve May. I want to continue to be a part of that because I believe that I can continue to help.”

Some examples Manville offered is the work being done to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant, a grant that was applied for to consolidate the police department, and the administration’s work to restore the financial foundation of the village.

Manville, among the others, is asking for your vote on March 21.

Both parties have set up Facebook pages that contain more information.

In the Village of Waverly, N.Y., the Village election will take place in the Trustees’ Room in the Village Hall located at 32 Ithaca St. The polls will be open between noon and 9 p.m.

For this election, trustee Patrick Ayres will run unopposed for Mayor. As the owner of Broad Street Records, Ayres was the only candidate to turn in his petition for the position that is being vacated by Mayor Dan Leary, who will step aside at the end of his term.

Also, in Waverly, there are three, two-year trustee seats being vied for by five candidates and the village justice post, in which John Sobol and Richard Gorman are both vying for.

Running for trustee seats are Jerry Sinsabaugh (incumbent), Ronald Keene, Christopher Brewster (incumbent), Eric Reznicek and Charlie Havens.

For the justice seat, candidate John Sobol spoke out about his reasons for running.

“During my career as a New York State Parole Officer, I had the opportunity to interface with the late Honorable Justice Richard Koons,” said Sobol, adding, “Our discussions and interactions provided me insight into the position of village justice, and I not only gained immense respect for the late Honorable Justice Richard Koons, but my own aspirations to seek the office of Waverly Village Justice idea became part of my life goals.” 

As for the task at hand, if elected, Sobol feels his experience will be a perfect fit.

Sobol stated, “I began my career counseling Juvenile offenders in a secure setting where I prepared them for re entry into the community. I then became a Parole Officer with an additional task of keeping the community safe. My familiarity of the law and criminal justice is a perfect fit, and it is my pleasure to use my training and experience for the community.”

Sobol will square off against at least one other justice candidate, longtime Tioga County Sheriff’s Officer Richard Gorman, who announced his candidacy for the position in December.

At the time of this reporting, we were not able to reach Gorman for comment.

David Boland has been serving as the acting justice since the late Village Justice Richard Koons passed away last year.