COLUMBIANA- A crowded field of candidates is running for the Columbiana school board on Nov. 3, with eight fighting for three seats.

- Brian Keith Brown, a Columbiana graduate, is a former university lecturer, congressional advocate and researcher who has taught courses on politics, lobbying and campaigns while working within the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies to advance its mission of building honesty and accountability in government. He is also an aspiring entrepreneur who is preparing to open a retail store in Columbiana that caters to young people, as well as a former law clerk within the university judicial system, regularly hearing cases as a judge. Although this is his first time running for an elected office, Brown said he feels he is qualified because the community expects a school board member to have a "genuine love of education," which he said he has displayed in his past education (master's degree in applied political science) and his work experience with college students. He said he also has a "passion for ensuring children have access to the means of fully developing their skills and talents," and the leadership skills to bring it all together.

If elected, Brown said he will help build a more open and accessible board to listen to the community's concerns and advice, as well as help ensure money is spent with the best educational interests of the students in mind.

He lives on Columbiana Waterford Road.

- Incumbent Alex Heintzelman, a 2004 Columbiana graduate, is finishing his first term on the school board, for which he is the current president. He is currently completing his third year of medical school clerkships at regional hospitals, including St. Elizabeth's and Akron Children's.

During his tenure on the school board, Heintzelman represented the school as a member on the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center for all four years.

With eight years experience between the two school boards on which he serves, Heintzelman said he has learned many of the duties and responsibilities of the superintendent, treasurer and building principals; ran and managed school board meetings; and built relationships within the school and community- all a young age, which he said allows him to incorporate his education into helping the students pursue their post-secondary education.

As an incumbent, Heintzelman cited three accomplishments of which he is proud to have been a part, including aiding the teachers, administration, parents and community to help the students achieve academic and extracurricular excellence; establishing a pre-school at the Dixon Early Learning Center; and encouraging the increasingly innovative use of technology as a learning tool in the classroom. However, he noted that it is unfitting for a single member of the board to claim credit for any particular accomplishments due to the board member's role being that of employing and monitoring the superintendent and treasurer and not implementing or proposing changes.

Heintzelman lives on North Middle Street and is a member of Grace Church.

- Incumbent Jay A. Hertel has been on the board for eight years. He also served three years on the Columbiana Softball Board and is a volunteer scorekeeper for the junior varsity and varsity volleyball games.

A 1980 graduate of Leetonia, Hertel has been a family practice physician for the past 17 years.

In his eight years, Hertel said he is proud to have been a part of the school's continued excellence, its survival of a $1 million cut in budget and the hiring of and working with a great administrative team.

Citing his past experience on the board, Hertel said he has developed an understanding of the board and school that will enable him to help lead the district into the future.

"I understand the 'workings' of the board, and the present board works extremely well together," he said. "I would like to continue the successes of Columbiana Schools, and with my experience of being on the board, and the knowledge I have gained from this experience, I will do all that is in my power to assure that this happens."

He is currently a member of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Leetonia, where he participates in the voice and hand bell choir. Hertel and his wife, Susan, have three children, the youngest of which is a sophomore at Columbiana. They live on North Elm Street.

- Marilyn Saxton, the current Joshua Dixon PTO treasurer, has been the vice-president of operations at Millennium Health Care Consulting LLC in Canton for the past eight years.

She said she is seeking office because she said she feels the current board does not represent the interests of students, parents and community members at all levels. And with her experience in the business world, while helping to manage a growing family, she said can work productively toward a goal of excellence.

"Education is the most important tool for success, and I believe that a public school system should work to serve its entire student population, communicate effectively and strive for continued excellence," she said.

If elected, Saxton said she will work with the other board members to oversee the actions of the administration to ensure that the school is serving everyone's best interests in a fiscally responsible way.

She and her husband, former Columbiana High School Principal Tim Saxton, live with their three children on Firestone Avenue.

- Incumbent Ruth Williamson has been on the board for six years. She has been a registered nurse at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown since 1980, currently working in the Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Department.

Currently she helps serve dinner each Thanksgiving at the Way Station; works the concession stand at the baseball field for the children's baseball games; and assists with the annual Heart Walk at Youngstown State University. In her six-year tenure, Williamson noted that the district has achieved an "Excellent" rating by the Ohio Department of Education while operating on a tight budget without asking for additional taxpayer money; that the board has been a good steward of the current taxpayers' money; and the schools have maintained a high level of technology to meet the students' needs for the 21st century. With a health care background, Williamson said she brings a unique dimension to the board- that of the wellness of students, noting she recently participated in a handwashing clinic at Joshua Dixon Elementary. And she said she is determined to help the district maintain its "Excellent" rating while being a good steward of taxpayers' money.

"I am very focused on seeing that [the schools] are being run efficiently," she said. "I speak with the students, teachers, principals, superintendent and treasurer about issues they have and work to correct them. I believe in education."

Williamson and her husband, Jay, live with their twin son and daughter on Meadow Place.

Salem News questionnaires were not returned by challengers Kelly Witmer, Coleen Herbert and Anthony Roncone.

Kevin Howell can be reached at khowell@salemnews.net