Village elections taking place March 18

[By Wendy Post]

On March 18, from noon to 9 p.m. at 22 Elm St. in Owego, members of the “Better Owego Together” party are running unopposed to retain their trustee seats.

Current members include Michael Baratta, mayor; Terry Van Hall, 1st Ward; Kathy Hankey, 2nd Ward; and Fran VanHousen, 3rd Ward. Hankey was appointed to the seat previously filled by Charles Plater.

Rod Marchewka is on the ballot to maintain his seat as clerk treasurer, and Dave Boland will be looking to fill another term as the village judge.

According to Mayor Baratta, the village has not received any petitions or challenges. Resident Doug Weeks, however, recently announced that he will be running as a write-in candidate for the Ward 1 seat currently occupied by Terry Van Hall.

Other elections will be taking place around the county, including Newark Valley. That election normally takes place in the Rollie Noble Room, from noon to 9 p.m. However, we were unable to confirm the polling times and the location at the time of this report. You can contact your village clerk at (607) 642-8686 or stop by the Park Street office for further information.

You can also check out news from an earlier caucus in which the three nominees who came out of the session were Republicans Joseph Mooney for Mayor, and Katie Sack and William Foster for Trustee positions. The nominees that arose from the caucus will now be included on the ballot on March 18. You can read that story at www.owegopennysaver.com/PS/2026/02/01/a-caucus-tradition-continues/.

Elections in the Village of Waverly will also be held on Wednesday, March 18, at the Waverly Village Hall, located at 32 Ithaca St. between the hours of noon and 9 p.m. 

On the ballot are three two-year term trustee seats and two one-year term seats; one of those is held by Lyman Wage, the other is currently vacant. 

For the Village of Candor, their village elections were held last year, so another election cycle won’t happen until 2027.