A gathering of stickers along the counter at the Douglas County Courthouse awaited early voters, Nov. 3, 2016.

Activity on the eve of Thursday’s filing deadline for this year’s city/school board elections has produced contested elections for Baldwin City Council and mayor and the Eudora school board.

In addition, at least one candidate has filed for the three Baldwin City school board positions and the two Eudora City Commission seats on this year’s ballot. The filing deadline is noon Thursday.

Incumbent Baldwin City Mayor Marilyn Pearse made official Tuesday her announced intention to seek another four-year term. Casey Simoneau joined her on the ballot Wednesday.

A member of the Baldwin City Planning Commission since 2015, Simoneau ran unsuccessfully for the Baldwin City Council two years ago. The former 10-year Kansas Highway Patrol officer and owner of the Baldwin City title company Executive Title said he was entering the race as a young family man who wants to better the city for himself and his children.

“My main issue is to make sure Baldwin City is taken care of,” he said. “I want to better understand where our city fits financially. Once you understand the numbers, you can establish the goals the city needs to achieve and have discussion on various items. I have great respect and love for this city. I want to serve the community that has given my family a home.”

Three filings this week also set up a general election contest for the two open seats on the Baldwin City Council. Filing for the positions Tuesday and Wednesday were Brian Messenger, Peter Sexton and A.J. Stevens. They join Susan Pitts, who filed previously, on the ballot.

A logistics manager for Kalmar Global, of Ottawa, Messenger said he decided to run because he wanted to see Baldwin City “grow in the right direction.”

“It would be nice for the City Council to be pro-Baldwin and pro-business,” he said. “I decided to throw my hat in the ring to see if I can make a difference.”

Although only a four-year resident of Baldwin City, Sexton said that before he moved in, he had been visiting the community for years to visit his daughter, a Baldwin City resident. Now retired, he has held local government positions in Ohio and in a Chicago suburb, he said. He is also a former village clerk. His concern is greater citizen involvement in local government, he said.

“It seems to me small-town folks want somebody else to do it,” he said. “Participation has not been a strong suit, in my opinion.”

Stevens is the assistant athletic director at Ottawa University. He and family chose to live in Baldwin City because they liked the community and schools, he said.

Filings this week have also setup a November general election contest for the three Eudora school board positions on this year’s ballot. Last week, incumbent Eric Votaw and newcomer Eric Ahlander filed for the board, joining incumbents Michael Kelso and Joseph Hurla as candidates. The seats are at-large positions, and the three candidates with the most votes in November will be elected to the board.

Votaw said he weighed for some time whether to seek another four years on the board or let someone take the seat.

“I still have three kids in school, so I decided I still wanted to be part of that organization,” he said.

The challenge before the board the next four years would be managing the continued growth in the district, Votaw said.

“Neither myself nor any patron wants to start talking about another bond issue,” he said. “To not go down that path, we have to be creative in the way we accommodate those new students coming to the district in terms of teachers and space.”

Ahlander is a newcomer to politics and the community, having recently moved to the hometown of his wife, Kelly. He is an area transportation manager for the Amazon facility in Edgerton. He said he came to that job after a 15-year career as a logistics expert with the Army.

He said he has not developed a platform and plans to schedule a forum to learn what members of the community want. His interest is serving the district in which his four children ages 1 through 12 either attend or will attend, he said.

Ahlander said he likes the current vision the board has provided the district and feels his background as a logistician can contribute to district progress.

Unlike the Eudora school board, the Baldwin City school board elects six of its seven members from defined areas within the district. Three of those positions are on the ballot this year.

Incumbent Gregory Kruger filed in April for another four years in the District 1, Position 4 seat. Over the past week, Susan Schiffelbein filed for the District 2, Position 5 seat that Nicole Tiller held until resigning from the board earlier this month to move out of state with her family, and Chris Perry filed for the District 3, Position 6 seat. The Journal-World was unable to reach Perry on the number he listed with the county clerk’s office.

Schiffelbein has also applied to serve out the remaining seven months of Tiller’s unexpired term. Baldwin City Superintendent Paul Dorathy said those wanting to be considered for the opening have until June 14 to present a letter of interest to the district office, 715 Chapel St. The board will interview candidates and make an appointment to fill the unexpired term at its June 19 meeting.

Schiffelbein, whose youngest of three children graduated from Baldwin High School in May, said she filed for the position because of the lack of interest in board positions and because she believed her 27 years of experience in education would be of benefit to the district. She taught primarily at the elementary level for 26 years in western Kansas, the Topeka area and Eudora schools, she said. She now works for the state helping local school districts implement improvement goals.

“I feel like I do have a lot to share,” she said. “I know I don’t know everything. I have a growth mindset, so I’m open to learning new things.”

As yet, there will be no contested races for city government positions in Eudora or Lecompton, although all incumbents have filed for re-election. In the past week, Tim Reazin and Jolene Born filed for another four-year term on the Eudora City Commission.

Filing for re-election to the Lecompton City Council in the past week were incumbents Tim McNish and Elsie Middleton. Lecompton Mayor Sandra Jacquot has also filed for re-election.