Liberty Grove Town Board to Appoint Supervisor

The Liberty Grove Town Board will interview three candidates, Gary Farber, Michael Mercier and Robert Tidball, to fill the board’s open seat on Wednesday, April 17 at 5 pm before the town board meeting.

MaryKay Shumway resigned from the board in February because she is moving to another municipality. Her seat will be up for election again on April 2014. Two supervisor positions were open in the April 2 election, and were filled by incumbents Frank Forkert and Nancy Goss.

The applicants:

Farber sits on the town’s Parks and Properties Committee and Marina Subcommittee and is concerned with the town’s spending. He wants to make sure residents are aware of the costs of proposed projects, like purchasing property or putting garbage cans in public parks. He said he would make himself available to Liberty Grove residents with questions about town costs.

Farber didn’t run for a seat on the board in the April 2 election because he was wary of the two-year commitment.

“If by giving them that information they appreciate what I’m doing, then I [could run for reelection in 2014 and] be effective as a supervisor for two more years,” Farber said. “They’ll let me know if I’m ineffective. That’s what elections are all about.”

Mercier sits on the town’s Plan Commission, and ran for one of the open seats on the board on April 2. He lost to incumbents Nancy Goss and Frank Forkert in the election. Forkert got 344 votes, Goss got 336 and Mercier got 296.

“After the strong showing I had in the election I thought, in my case, the voters showed they were interested in me being a part of the board,” Mercier said.

Tidball resigned from the board in November 2012 because a majority of Liberty Grove voters supported Barack Obama in the presidential election. He has since changed his mind and wants to be back on the board.

“I still care about this area,” Tidball said. “I think I can get back to it and make a very positive contribution.”

Tidball was first appointed to the board in 2008.

The board will likely appoint a candidate after the interviews. The meeting is open to the public, though there is no time for public input.