Lehighton area residents planning to vote in the Primary Election on Tuesday, May 21, will see one municipal race and a contest for school board nominations on their ballots. Otherwise, there are no contested races.

There are four seats to be filled on the Lehighton Area School District Board of Education and there are plenty of candidates. Nine persons are seeking both Democratic and Republican nominations while a 10th candidate is aspiring to a GOP nomination.The Democrats in Mahoning Township will have a choice for that nomination for a four-year term as tax collector. Three persons are on that ballot.Otherwise, there are no contested races in East Penn and Franklin townships, nor Lehighton, Parryville or Weissport boroughs. Interestingly, no one is seeking the office of mayor in Lehighton.A breakdown of what to expect on the ballots in the Lehighton area communities includes:Lehighton Area School BoardVoters in the Lehighton Area School District have no shortage of candidates for four four-year terms of office on the district's board of education. There are 10 candidates who appear on either the Democratic and Republican ballots.The top four finishers on each side will square off in November.The candidates include three incumbents, including Hal P. Resh, William J. Hill Jr. and David Krause. Incumbent director John T. Finnegan is not a candidate,Resh, Hill and Krause appear on both ballots, as do Gloria J. Bowman, Lori S. Nothstein, David Hauser, David Bradley, Catherine Plocinik and Stephen L. Holland.In addition to those nine candidates being on both ballots, the 10th candidate, Kristen Marks, is running on the Republican ballot.Voters in East Penn, Franklin and Mahoning townships and Lehighton, Parryville and Weissport boroughs comprise the district's at-large balloting.Mahoning TownshipA race for the Democratic nomination for a four-year term as tax collector in Mahoning Township highlights the Primary Election balloting in that municipality.Incumbent Richard R. Swarcheck is running for re-election but faces opposition from Pauline F. Homm and Kerry Verrastro. the winner of that race will face Republican Wanda Cunfer-Crostley, who is unopposed for that nomination.There is a shortage of candidates for two six-year terms on the Mahoning Board of Supervisors. Two incumbents, John J. Wieczorek and Todd Weaver, are not running. In fact, there is only one candidate, that being Democrat James W. Holland. Weaver was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Travis G. Steigerwalt.Township voters are also slated to fill a six-year term on the board of auditors. There are no candidates for the post.Mahoning voters will also elect a judge of elections and two inspectors of elections (one from each party) in each of the township's three election precincts. The candidates are: District 36 - Republican Sandra Putkowski, judge of elections, and Republican Jo-Ann Hawk, inspector of elections; District 36 - Republican Joyce Walters, judge of elections, and Democrat Ellen Durigan and Republican Nancy Pollock, inspectors of elections; and District 38 - Democrat Marie Klotz, judge of elections, and Democrat Kathleen L. Haldeman, inspector of elections.LehightonStrangely, the largest community in Carbon County, Lehighton Borough, has no one running to be its mayor.Mayor Donald Rehrig's term is expiring at the end of the year and neither a Democrat nor a Republican has filed nominating petitions to seek the four-year term to be filled by the electorate.The borough voters will also fill three four-year terms on the town council. Three incumbents are seeking re-election. They are Democrat Scott T. Rehrig and Republicans George Kogut and John W. Bird. There are no races on either ballot since there are three nominations to be filled and there are only two candidates on each side. Joining Rehrig on the Democratic ballot is Joseph Flickinger.Tax collector Mary E. Strohl, a Republican, is running for re-election to another four-year term of office. She is unopposed on both tickets.Borough voters will also fill judges of elections and inspectors of elections positions in each of the town's three voting precincts. There are no contested races for these positions. The only candidates are: District 28 - Democrat Audrey Redline and Republican Marie Frable, inspectors of elections; and District 29 - Republican Kamara Wentz, judge of elections.East Penn TownshipThere are no contested races in the Primary Election in East Penn Township, where voters are slated to elect/re-elect a supervisor to a six-year term and the four-year term as tax collector.In the supervisors' race, the term of Herb Truhe is expiring. He is not a candidate. The only person on the ballot in that race is Democrat Deanna Cunfer.Tax collector Thomas B. Beck, a Democrat, is unopposed in his bid for re-election. There also is no Republican candidate.Township voters are also scheduled to elect two auditors, one for a six-year term and the other for four years. There are no candidates on either ballot for the positions.The voters also select judges of elections and inspectors of elections for four-year terms in each of the township voting districts (7 and 8). In District 7, Republican Candy Everett is a candidate for judge of elections in District 7, where Democrat Faith Beck is a candidate for inspector of elections. In District 8, the lone candidate is Democrat Jillian K. Hessinger. She is running for the judge of elections post.Franklin TownshipThere are no contested races on the Franklin Township municipal ballot this time, but there will be one in the fall.Voters will elect a supervisor to a six-year term and fill a four-year term as tax collector.Byron K. Long, a Democrat, is seeking election to the supervisor's position. He is currently filling the unexpired term of the late Larry Smith. Long is unchallenged on the Democratic ticket while Robin D. Cressley, a Republican, is unopposed on the Republican side. The two will meet in November.Tax collector Sara J. Keiser, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to another four-year term. She is unopposed on the Democratic side. There is no GOP candidate.The Franklin voters will also fill four-year terms of judges of elections and inspectors of elections in each of the township's three voting districts.In District 11, there is no candidate for judge of elections while Democrat Maureen C. Markley and Republican Carol Kuehner are the candidates for inspectors of elections. In District 12, Democrat Claudia T. Feller is running for judge of elections and Democrat Betty J. Wolfe and Republican Ann Shoenberger are seeking the inspectors of elections positions. And in District 13, Democrat Stacy Sheckler is running for judge of elections while the inspectors of elections candidates are Democrat Gary Eckley and Republican Shawn Sheckler.ParryvilleVoters in Parryville have no choices to make in the May Primary Election as there is a shortage of candidates in the borough.Three persons are running unopposed, including Mayor Dean Emery, a Republican aspiring to be re-elected to a four-year term in that office, and two Republican councilpersons. They include Jennifer Emery and Cathy Hawk. Another incumbent, Jennifer Borger, is not on the ballot. There are no Democratic candidates for mayor or council.Tax collector Penny Szoke's four-year term is set to expire. She is not a candidate. In fact, no one is seeking the position on either ballot.Running unopposed for judge of elections, a four-year term, is Democrat Lamont G. Sherer while unopposed on their respective ballots for four-year terms as inspectors of elections are Democrat Lester Greenzweig and Republican Ellen Fink.WeissportThere are no contested races facing Weissport Borough voters for the Primary Election. Four incumbents are seeking re-election to their respective terms.They include Mayor Jonathan Glenn Troutman, a Democrat, who is running for another four-year term. He is unopposed on both ballots.Also unopposed are Democrat Paulette Watson and Republican Gene Kershner, incumbent council members who are also seeking return to four-year terms. The voters are scheduled to elect three council members. In addition to Watson and Kershner, Councilman Timothy Rehrig's term is set to expire. He is not a candidate.Tax collector Theresa Troutman, a Democrat, is also running for re-election to a four-year term. She has no opposition on either ballot.Weissport voters will also elect a judge of elections and two inspectors of elections for four-year terms in the election precinct. The lone candidate is Democrat Linda L. Schoenberger, who is running for the inspector of elections position.