The Lehighton area will, by far, be the busiest part of the county with regard to municipal balloting on Tuesday, when the 2017 primary election is held.

That's because a spirited contest for seven seats on the Lehighton Area School District Board of Education exists between 13 candidates, 11 of which are aspiring to win Democratic and Republican nominations as cross-filed candidates for five four-year terms that are expected to be filled by the electorate.Add to that competition for borough council and the mayor's office in Lehighton, plus for the GOP nomination for the six-year term on the Franklin Township board of supervisors, and the region is poised for possible high voter turnouts.Lehighton area school boardThe 11 people running on both tickets for the four-year terms on the school board are Joy Beers, Duane R. Eidem, Gloria J. Bowman, Katelynn R. Bear, Frank L. Tamburri, Rebecca Worthy, Gail Maholick, Phillip J. Liszka, David F. Bradley Sr., Stacey Lynn Duerst and Stephen L. Holland. Each of them appear on both tickets with the top five from each party advancing to the general election in November.Two others seeking two-year terms on the board that are up for grabs are David L. Krause and Larry E. Stern. They are cross-filed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots and are joined by Liszka, Bradley, Maholick, Tamburri, Bear, Worthy and Beers. The top two finishers on each ballot will square off in November.Eidem and Bowman are not seeking two-year terms.Voters in Lehighton, Parryville and Weissport boroughs and East Penn Franklin and Mahoning townships participate in the school district balloting.Lehighton BoroughRepublican Mayor Thomas Mase is running for re-election to another four-year term of office, but he faces opposition. Two other Republicans, Ryan R. Saunders and Clary Ritter, are challenging the mayor for the nomination.The winner of that race will face Democrat Douglas J. Nothstein. He is unopposed in the primary.The council race exists on the Democratic ballot, where four people are running for three four-year nominations. They are incumbents Joe Flickinger, Helen Torok and Scott T. Rehrig and newcomer Bear.The top three finishers will square off in November against three Republicans who are running unopposed this time around. They include Carlos F. Teets, Denise Murphy and Autumn Abelovsky.Tax collector Mary E. Strohl, a Republican, is running for re-election to another four-year term. She is unopposed both within her party and on the Democratic side.Franklin TownshipIncumbent Franklin Township Supervisor Rod E. Green is running for re-election to another six-year term of office, but faces opposition from two other Republicans. Challenging him for the GOP nomination are Jason Frey and Jonathan Gula.The winner of that race will face Democrat Bradley in the fall. He is unopposed on the Democratic ticket.Tax collector Sara J. Keiser is running for another four-year term of office. A Democrat, she is unopposed on both ballots.The township voters are also slated to elect an auditor for a six-year term. There is only one candidate, that being Republican Howard R. Boehringer Jr.East Penn TownshipThere are no contests in East Penn Township this time around. Two candidates running for two six-year nominations for seats on the township's board of supervisors, John M. Strockoz and Steven C. Heckman, are unopposed. There are no Democratic candidates.Thomas N. Beck, a Democrat, is running for re-election to a four-year term as tax collector. He is unopposed both within his party and from the Republicans.Lee Becker, a Republican, is the lone candidate on either ticket for a six-year term as auditor. There are no candidates for the four-year term as auditor that is also up for grabs.Mahoning TownshipLike East Penn, Mahoning Township also does not have any contests in the primary election as the five candidates on the ballot are all unopposed.Democrat Bruce R. Steigerwalt and Republican Myron Zeke Blahy are running for their party's nominations for the six-year term on the board of supervisors that is up for grabs. Robert Slaw, a Republican, is unopposed on both tickets for the two-year term on the board that is available.Tax collector Pauline F. Homm, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to another four-year term of office and is unchallenged on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.The fourth candidate on Mahoning's ballot is Republican Wallace Putkowski. He is seeking his party's nomination for the six-year term on the board of auditors. There is no Democratic candidate.ParryvilleSharon K. Hinkle is the lone candidate on the Parryville Borough ballot. A Democrat, she is running for a four-year term on council, where four seats are to be filled by the electorate.There are also no candidates for the four-year terms of mayor and tax collector in Parryville.WeissportSimilar to Parryville, only one person appears on that borough's ballot. She is Brenda E. Leiby. A Democrat, she is running for a four-year term on council, where three seats are to be filled by the electorate.No one is running for mayor, nor tax collector, in Weissport, both of which are four-year terms.