Six to compete for three Roselle board seats

Two Roselle trustees will fight to keep their seats in the April 5 consolidated election that is guaranteed to produce at least one new face on the village board.

Seven candidates filed petitions to run for three open seats, including incumbents Barbara Rendall Hochstadt, Richard Rhode and Ron Sass.

But Sass died late Monday following a long battle with cancer, which means a newcomer will fill his seat this spring. Sass had served on the board since 1987.

Current Trustee Richard Rhode is running on the Roselle United Party ticket with first-time candidates Eleanor “Elly” Paletta, a local attorney, and Todd Eichholz, a lifelong Roselle resident who owns a real estate development business.

The group has started campaigning online.

Incumbent Barbara Rendall Hochstadt is vying for a second term as an independent. She was the first to launch her campaign in late November both online and with neighborhood canvasses and signs.

Two other newcomers will run as independents: part-time Roselle firefighter Ron Baker and Roselle Park District Commissioner Wayne Domke, who has served on the park board for 12 years. His term expires in 2013.

Domke is also the founding member of the Roselle Garden Club and Beautification Committee and serves on the Roselle Sister Cities Commission.