The Saucon Valley School District administration building (FILE PHOTO)
Primary election day in Pennsylvania is now less than four weeks away. As a result, many candidates for local office are busy introducing or re-introducing themselves to voters.
In the Saucon Valley School District, the candidates for school board are striving to distinguish themselves from within a field of seven candidates for four seats.
Each seat is for a four-year term on the nine-member school board.
According to the Northampton County Office of Elections and Voter Registration’s municipal primary sample ballots, five of the seven candidates are cross-filed, meaning they will appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
They are incumbents Sandra Miller, Cedric Dettmar, Shamim Pakzad and Tracy Magnotta. Challenger Vivian A. Demko is also cross-filed.
Magnotta, Pakzad and Dettmar are running on the same platform and have a shared campaign website, here.
Challenger Raquel Barbera will appear only on the Democratic primary ballot and challenger John A. Conte will appear only on the Republican ballot.
*Note: If a campaign social media page or website was found to exist for a candidate, it has been linked to their name, above.
For our introduction to the Southern Lehigh School Board race, click here.
For general information about the Saucon Valley School Board, click here.
The Saucon Valley School District educates children from Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown borough. Approximately 2,400 students are enrolled in the district.
Pennsylvania’s primary elections are closed, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans may vote in them and can only vote for candidates from their own party.
The top four finishers on each ballot in the May 18 primary will advance to the general election, in which registered voters will be able to cast ballots for up to four school board candidates of their choice. General elections in Pennsylvania are open to all registered voters, and both Republicans and Democrats appear on the same ballot.
The last day to register to vote in the upcoming primary is Monday, May 3. Registration may be completed online and registered voters may elect to vote by mail. Find other important information about voting by mail as well as where to vote in person at PAVotes.com and on the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters website, PaLWV.org.
Note: Saucon Source invites each school board candidate to explain why they are running and what they hope to accomplish–if elected–in a statement of up to 200 words that will be shared with our readers in a May primary election guide. Candidates may include additional links to social media pages and/or a campaign website (if available), and may include an email address for publication for voters who may wish to contact them with further questions. Candidates should also include a photograph of themselves that is suitable for publication (.jpg or .png, higher resolution preferred). Saucon Source will proofread submissions for spelling and grammar before publishing them. If a statement exceeds 200 words, we reserve the right to edit it for length out of fairness to all candidates. Our editorial staff will make a good faith effort to contact all candidates to solicit this information from them directly. The deadline to submit a statement and photo to jo**@sa**********.com is Friday, April 30 at 5 p.m.
