Incumbent Select Board member Aaron A. Hayden has taken out papers for reelection.
AMHERST – Anyone who wants to run in the town’s annual election April 3, has to file papers by Feb 14 at 5 p.m.
As of Friday, incumbents Select Board member Aaron A. Hayden and School Committee member Irvin E. Rhodes had taken out papers. Jones Library Board of Trustee Austin Sarat had taken out and filed papers.
Hayden’s seat is the only one up for re-election on the board this year.
Two seats are open on the School Committee.
Because of redistricting, all precinct lines have changed, which means that all town meeting seats are up for election even if the member’s term has not expired, Town Clerk Sandra Burgess said.
Twenty-four members are needed in each of the town’s 10 precincts.
Those running for town-wide office must collect signatures of at least 50 registered voters. Town meeting members need only the signature of one from his or her precinct. The candidate’s signature is enough.
Rhodes said he wants one more term. He was first elected three years ago.
School Committee member Steve G. Rivkin resigned last month because of a move from Amherst. His seat is also up for election.
Rhodes, who’s chairman of the School Committee, said the committee will meet Jan. 17 to talk about whether they want to fill that vacancy before the election.
If so, the Select Board would set a date for a joint meeting at which both the School Committee and Select Board would elect the new member, as stated in the Town Government Act.
Those interested would apply for consideration. That term would expire April 3.
Rhodes said he doesn’t know what the committee will do. He said he hasn’t heard of anyone who would like to run for the vacancy in the annual election. “The silence is deafening,” he said.
He wondered if electing a member ahead of the election might spur some interest for the three-year seat.
Hayden was first elected to the Select Board in November of 2008, filling the unexpired term of Anne S. Awad who had resigned that summer. He ran unopposed to a full term in 2009.
Last April, Jones Library trustees and the Select Board elected Sarat to replace member Kathleen Wang who had resigned. That appointment lasts until this election and the term would expire in 2013.
Other trustees up for re-election are Carol J. Gray and Sarah McKee.