This year’s Oxford Village election will feature some competition as five residents filed petitions to run for three council seats.
Incumbent council members Chris Bishop, Mike Hamilton and Tom Benner are all seeking re-election in the Tuesday, Sept. 15 contest.
They will face challenges from ex-village employee Maureen Helmuth and former village Councilman David Bailey.
Each council seat carries a four-year term that expires in September 2013.
Both challengers come with previous experience in village government.
A 22-year municipal employee, Helmuth began working in the village office in 1986 and spent 15 years working as the utility billing clerk. She was appointed village treasurer in August 2007.
When council voted in August of last year to combine the treasurer’s job with the clerk’s position as a cost-saving measure, Helmuth was effectively laid off.
When asked why she’s running, Helmuth replied, ‘I just miss working for the village, miss helping the community.?
Helmuth is a Certified Public Finance Administrator and a 2006 graduate of the Michigan Municipal Treasurers Institute.
Bailey served on the council from 2001 until 2007, when he decided not to seek re-election.
‘I didn’t (run) before because I had just lost my wife,? said Bailey, referring to his spouse, Margaret Nilsson, who passed away in spring 2007. ‘Making a four-year commitment to my municipality is the kind of thing you’re advised not to do when you’ve lost your spouse. But now, it’s been two years, and I’d like to get back involved.?
Of the incumbents seeking re-election, Benner’s served on council the longest. He was appointed in April 2005 and elected in September 2005. Prior to that, Benner, who’s spent his life working in construction, served as a councilman from 1995-98.
Bishop, who’s currently serving as village president, was appointed to council in May 2006 and elected in September 2007. He works as the general manager of Grove’s True Value Hardware.
Hamilton, a master electrician and local contractor, was elected in September 2007 after having served on the planning commission for a year.