Around Brimfield: Meet the township trustee candidates

Each summer, I look for monarch butterfly eggs under milkweed leaves in my flower garden and watch as they hatch into tiny larvae. I cut part of the milkweed plant with the tiny creatures attached and put them in an indoor habitat so I can continue to watch them grow into fat caterpillars, crawl to the top of the habitat and attach themselves upside down in a J shape to begin the metamorphosis into a chrysalis. At this stage, the caterpillar undergoes a radical change and emerges as a beautiful butterfly. It is miraculous to watch. The poet Maya Angelou wrote, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Brimfield is going through some changes and struggles of late and will hopefully emerge stronger and better. A controversial fiscal officer has been hired and must run for election in November to keep her spot, and the human resource/business manager position has been dissolved. Longtime Trustee Mike Kostensky has officially announced that he will not be seeking another term. The Portage County Board of Elections has released the names of eight candidates who will be on the Nov. 4 ballot to fill two township trustee seats and two candidates who are vying for the fiscal officer position. This election will undoubtedly shape the future of our township, so do your research and vote responsibly. Listed below are the candidates and their contact information (listed in order of receipt of petitions by the PC Board of Elections).