HUBBARD TOWNSHIP — Residents will have the chance to welcome a pair of new faces to the trustees board as a lifetime resident and a returning resident face off against an appointed trustee looking to make the position her own.

This year’s race is among three candidates as Monica Baker, Eric Lamb and Russell Speerbrecher look to fill a pair of vacant spots on the board.

A fourth candidate, Tim Gilliland, was not certified by the county’s board of elections in August because he signed and dated the statement of candidacy on his petitions after signatures were collected, which is considered a fatal flaw under state election law. While that was overturned, the board voted not to certify him because he submitted one front page of a petition with his statement of candidacy on it and three back pages of signatures.

MONICA BAKER

Baker, a former chairperson of the township’s zoning commission, was appointed as a trustee by Trumbull County Probate Court Judge James Fredericka earlier this year to fill the remainder of former trustee Rick Hernandez’s term. Hernandez resigned from the position following his election as a county commissioner last November.

Baker said Sunday that if she gets elected, she looks to continue watching over what happens with the potential elimination of property taxes in the state.

She said if she’s still watching over the zoning department, she hopes to continue managing the list of properties the township will propose for demolition.

Additionally, she said she’d like to focus on grants, noting there have been ones available for the police and road departments.

“I can’t make them materialize out of nowhere, but trying to find more grants for demolition would be great,” Baker said. “But if I end up over another department, working with Eastgate (Regional Council of Governments) and trying to find grant money through them, it’ll be a learning process for me.”

ERIC LAMB

Lamb, a 1998 Hubbard High School graduate and business owner who returned to the township in May, said he decided to run because he saw a need for unity in the township.

Because of that, Lamb said he hopes to provide more transparency and accountability to the board and community, pointing out that there have been instances where taxpayer money was used inefficiently or without enough transparency for residents to see the reasoning behind it.

Lamb said he hopes to create a “team mentality” on the board, regardless of who gets elected.

Like Baker, Lamb said he also would like to pursue grants to help get the township ahead in some areas.

“We can’t continue to thrive and have a township with a deficit and continue to expect to have a police department and a road department with people just sitting back and not looking outside the box and getting grants,” Lamb said.

RUSSELL SPEERBRECHER

Speerbrecher, a lifelong resident of the area, Hubbard High School graduate and owner of several small businesses, said with Trustee Bill Colletta not running again, he saw a niche he could fill — which is why transparency is also a priority for him.

“Transparency needs to continue, so if I can continue that for everybody, you know, you have a concern, you got a question I can help with,” Speerbrecher said. “I think the community is a voice, not what’s good for myself, the other trustees — it has to be what’s good for the community.”

Aside from transparency, Speerbrecher said he would like to bring some integrity to the position, mainly in the sense of following through and bringing results.

He also said he will listen to the community, reiterating that he’d like to focus on what helps the majority, rather than himself or individual groups.