(Editor's Note: Please see several letters to the editor on this heated community topic in this week's editorial section.)

George Pappas will challenge Trustee John Mauk in a run-off election in Garden City's Estates section Tuesday, Feb. 3. Ed Keating brought forth Pappas as a candidate during the annual electors' meeting of the Estates Property Owners' Association (Estates POA) Jan. 20.

"In the interest of preserving the residential integrity of Garden City, I'm pleased to present for nomination George Pappas," Keating said.

Pappas, who's lived in the village for more than 34 years, said he's not a politician. "If you would've asked me six months ago if I really wanted to run for trustee, I would've told you 'you're out of your mind,'" he said.

So why would Pappas, whom James Kenny described as the "insurgent candidate," want to run now? "What's happened recently is a tragedy. When commercial interests, which are very important to this village, begin to overtake the interests of residents, then we've lost our way as to what's made Garden City a great place to live. It's time for a change," Pappas said.

Trustee John Mauk, however, fears the upcoming election is an attempt to silence him. "I suspect this challenge is an attempt to silence any questions and criticisms that have been raised about the proposal to put a library at St. Paul's," he said.

Mauk, who's said publicly and privately in the past that St. Paul's must be preserved, thinks the village board should reach a compromised solution acceptable to most in the community. "The library proposal currently being advanced is a bad idea," Mauk said frankly. "It's not well thought out ... We have to know exactly what we're getting into ... "

Pappas retorted, stating that a challenge is not a reason to silence discussion. "The issue between John and myself is simple. Mr. Mauk feels private [use] is the direction to go. I feel public [use] is the direction to go and have the village maintain control of St. Paul's.

"Once St. Paul's is turned over to private developers, it's lost forever," Pappas said. "After more than ten years, it's time to move forward. What's needed, I believe, is someone who has a vision, who's not afraid to make a decision. Someone who knows what St. Paul's is, represents and what it can be."

Trustee Mauk, who's served the community as village trustee for nearly four years, said there's been a resistance of late within the community in working toward a compromise. "I hope this election is not about that although I fear it is."

Residents of the Estates section can cast their vote for either Trustee Mauk or Pappas at the Garden City High School Feb. 3 between 3-9 p.m.