01/22/2013 School, city petitions available on Friday By ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter Anyone interested in sitting on the Madison Central School Board or pursuing a three-year position as mayor of Madison can start circulating petitions on Friday. Three seats are open on the Madison School Board. Those seats are currently held by Ryan Hegg, Tom Farrell and Paul Weist. Mayor Gene Hexom has announced he does not plan to seek re-election, opening the position for a new candidate. The petition deadline for mayor and school board candidates is Feb. 22. If needed, an election will be held April 9. Petitions for mayor are available at the City Finance Office. Finance Officer Jennifer Eimers said she will also be posting election items on the city's website. School board petitions are available at the business office in the high school. Both petitions are also available on the S.D. Secretary of State's website (www.sdsos.gov). Petitions must be filled out and notarized prior to circulation and again once circulation is completed. Each of the positions is nonpartisan. Candidates for mayor are required to obtain signatures from registered voters within the city of Madison. School board candidates must obtain signatures of registered voters within the school district. The new mayoral term begins May 6. School board terms begin in July. As for the area schools, the petition process for Chester, Rutland and Oldham-Ramona begins April 9 and concludes May 10. Rutland has four seats open, Chester has three and Oldham-Ramona has one. Area school board elections, if necessary, will be held on June 18.

©Madison Daily Leader 2013