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The Village of Lansing is set for some big changes in its government, yet the changes will almost certainly be small.  Mayor Donald Hartill, Trustees Mayor Ronny Hardaway and Patricia O'Rourke are all running for new terms on the Board of Trustees.  And with the resignation of Trustee Gerry Monaghan four of the five board seats are up for grabs.  Except Hartill, Hardaway, and O'Rourke are all running unopposed in next Tuesday's (April 23rd) election.  And Hartill says he will appoint a new trustee to fill out the rest of Monaghan's term to maintain stability in the election schedule.  Hartill said that Monaghan has continued his role on the board until this point in order to allow time to find a suitable replacement, and assure a smooth transition.

"I'm going to appoint a person to fill Gerry's seat," Hartill said Monday. "One of the reasons for the timing was so we wouldn't have four candidates on the ballot, as opposed to three.  Gerry's been very cooperative in agreeing to continue."

That person is Incodema Sales Manager Randy Smith.  Hartill said that Smith's business experience will be an asset to the Village, and that he will represent the same portion of the Village that Monaghan has, because the two live in the same neighborhood.

"It's going to be difficult to fill Gerry's shoes," Hartill said. "I want to thank Gerry for all of the things that he's done: inspiring art work on some of our fences, inspiring community relationships, paying a lot of attention to the diverse population that lives in the Village.  Paying a lot of attention to the fact that a large fraction of our population lives in the apartment complexes.  All of those things together have been very valuable.  I hope we can continue to maintain that tradition."

Monaghan said that while he is leaving the Board of trustees, he will rejoin the Village Greenway Committee.

"It's been a wonderful experience being part of this board," Monaghan said. "It's been amazing.  I have way too much on my plate.  I'm glad I could patiently wait and feel the timing out.  I'm so grateful to all of you.  It has been wonderful."

Hartill is running for his 12th term as Mayor.  Before becoming Mayor he served as a trustee, starting in 1989.  O'Rourke is running for her third elected term (she also filled part of Larry Fresinski's term when he moved out of state), and Hardaway is running for his second term.  The three are running on the Community Party line.  No other candidates have filed with the Tompkins County Board of Elections, and while there is an outside chance a last minute write-in campaign could upset the outcome, it is unlikely that the incumbents wont be re-elected.

Hartill said that he plans for Smith to attend the next meeting, at which he will be appointed to the Board.

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