Bedford, Chappaqua to Have Contested School Board Races
Voters in the Bedford and Chappaqua school districts will have a choice of four Board of Education candidates for two open seats as incumbents in both communities have decided against running for re-election.
Meanwhile, three neighboring districts – Pleasantville, Byram Hills and Mount Pleasant – will see uncontested races in this year’s elections that are scheduled for Tuesday, May 16.
In Bedford, where incumbents Angela White and President Edward Reder will leave the board, Rica Mendes, Betsy Sharma, Kristine Stoker and Elizabeth Goldman-Sider are on the ballot. Two former board members, Colette Dow, a former president, and Pam Harney, had submitted petitions by Monday’s deadline but withdrew their petitions by Wednesday morning, according to the district office.
Chappaqua will lose two experienced board members in President Jane Shepardson and Vice President Warren Messner as four new candidates will vie to replace them. Voters will decide among Matthew Auerbach, Shokoofeh Rajabzadeh, Alissa Dorfman and Beret Flom.
Another two more incumbents are bowing out in Pleasantville as President Jill Grossman and three-term board veteran and former president Angela Vella will be leaving the board at the end of the school year. They will be succeeded by John Vamossy and Lucas Cascardo.
In Mount Pleasant and Byram Hills a pair of incumbents are running uncontested. Sara Beaty and Laura Michalec Olszewski are planning to return to the Mount Pleasant Board of Education. The situation is the same in Byram Hills as Lara Stangel and Lori Kanner, the current president and vice president, respectively, are the only candidates for the two available board seats this year.
The candidates in all districts are running for three-year terms.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
