There will be a contested election this year to select members of the Sun City board of directors starting in 2020.
Two of them are incumbents seeking another term on the seven-member board. One is a former board member seeking to return after a year off. Another is a newcomer.
The incumbents are Steve Bytnar and Russ Howard. Bob Wainscott wants to return to the board after a year‘s hiatus. The newcomer is Dorothy (Dottie) Harrison. Voting ballots will be mailed to all Sun City residents in early October. Ballots must be returned by U.S. mail to the community’s election company by October 16.
Holdover members of the board for 2020 are President Dennis O’Leary, and members Bob McGouey, Vito Benigno, and Marilynn Berendt.
Incumbent Bytnar, completing a two-year term on the board, is best known for helping residents and others with their local property tax assessments. He has lived in Sun City for more than a decade.
Incumbent Howard is past president of the Sun City Pickleball Club, past chair and member of the Facility Advisory Committee, and played a key role in working out the agreement between the Pickleball and Tennis Clubs regarding joint use of the Tall Oaks facilities.
Wainscott is former chair and member of the Finance Advisory Committee and served on the board from 2017-2018 before taking a year off last year.
Harrison, who prefers “Dottie” to Dorothy, worked as a K-12 teacher in schools in four states in her career. She and husband Gene have lived in Sun City for 5 ½ years. In the community she has served as a block captain, neighborhood rep, a member of the Woodchucks making toys for children at Christmas, and recorder of the Neighborhood Advisory Council, the Modifications Committee, and the Covenants Compliance Committee for several years. During her teaching career, she was named as a national finalist in the Teacher of the Year program.
Incumbent George Sebastian, who is serving a one-year term on the board, was originally announced as a candidate in this election, but on August 1 he dropped out, leaving four candidates competing for three positions this year.
The election information campaign will begin August 13 with a meet and greet session in the Fountain View Atrium from 6-8 p.m. A Candidate Forum will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Aug. 27 in Drendel Ballroom, and a final Candidate Forum and Spotlight will be held in Drendel on September 18 from 1-4 p.m.
The newly elected or re-elected board members will begin their new terms on January 1, 2020.
