Great Barrington — This year’s town election will be held on Tuesday, May 13, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
All candidates on this year’s town ballot are running unopposed.
Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon, who was first elected to the board in 2010, is running unopposed for reelection. He was appointed as the board’s chair in 2018 after serving as its vice chair since 2015. Bannon has also served as a member of the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee since 1997 and as its chair since 1999.
Running for a vacant seat on the Selectboard is current Finance Committee Chair Philip Orenstein. He has served on the Finance Committee since May 2021 and has been a member of the Great Barrington Housing Authority board since June 2022. Orenstein served on the board of the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire from January to November 2023 and as its interim executive director from December 2023 to November 2024.
Orenstein is running for the seat vacated by former Selectboard Vice Chair and now State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District). The seat has been vacant since Davis took office in the State House in January.
The only other candidate who is not an incumbent on any of the town boards is J.M. Brodeur, who is running for a five-year term for the Zoning Board of Appeals. Brodeur, who is currently an appointed associate member to the board, is running for a seat vacated by Carolyn Ivory.
The rest of the ballot includes incumbents running to maintain their seats:
- Town Moderator Michael Wise for a one-year term;
- Board of Health member Michael Lanoue for a three-year term;
- Finance Committee member Milena Cerna for a three-year term;
- Finance Committee member Madonna Meagher for a three-year term;
- Housing Authority member Maureen Meier for a five-year term;
- Library Trustee Ruby Chang for a three-year term;
- Library Trustee Lauren Clark for a three-year term;
- Planning Board member Jeremy Higa for a three-year term; and
- Planning Board member Brandee Nelson for a three-year term.
