COVENTRY – Town of Coventry voters will have more choices for who leads their small town in the coming years than any other voters in Chenango County.

Starting at the top, a surprise upset after the Republican Party Primary election in September finds three-term incumbent Janice O’Shea, despite the endorsement of the Chenango County Republican Party, on the November ballot as a Democrat and on an independent line entitled, “For Coventry.”

Her opponent, Republican John Phelan, 56, is also registered to run on the independent line, “Liberty.” He is returning to politics after a 12-year hiatus. He was town supervisor from 1989 to 1997 and served as chairman of the county’s Finance Committee from 1993 to 1995.

A third candidate for Coventry Supervisor is also in the mix: Independence Party member Larry G. Clark, 53, who declared his candidacy in July.

O’Shea, 71, who has been supervisor since 2004 when she was appointed to fill out her late husband Donal O’Shea’s term, said she hoped her record spoke for itself and that voters would remember the progressive actions taken by the town board under her leadership. The supervisor points to much-needed highway equipment procured for the town as well as a 5-year roads plan and reserve account created for future purchases. She noted quick action taken back in 2006 when floods wiped out 75 percent of the roads, and that the repairs were accomplished without any cost to taxpayers.

Since 2007, the property tax rate has decreased and the budget for 2010 will result in a tax rate decrease as well, she said, all despite rising annual health insurance costs, retirement contributions and higher fuel prices.

At the county level, O’Shea is the Acting Chairman of the Safety & Rules Committee, Vice Chairman of Ag, Buildings & Grounds and a board member of the Chenango County Soil & Water Conservation District and Cornell Cooperative Extension.

“At this time, it is more important than ever to have a supervisor who is actively engaged in all aspects of town and county government. I have been so engaged and will continue to be so, if re-elected,” she wrote in a position paper recently.

O’Shea said she has and will continue to submit the town’s annual financial reports to the state comptroller’s office on time, unlike Phelan, who, according to records in the town clerk’s office, submitted budgets from 1991 to 1994 that were routinely between 12 and 14 months late.

Phelan admitted in an interview earlier this week that the town’s financial reports were late. “Frankly... I didn’t want to send them at all,” he said.

Phelan said he is throwing his hat into the race for supervisor to correct property taxes and the assessment process. Coventry has completed two property revaluations in the last three years that, he said, were skewed by higher prices paid for land by natural gas companies.

“The key to getting property taxes in line is not cutting services or budgets or taxes. We need to get in new outside revenue. If we are going to have gas in this area, we need to figure out how to get every property owner their fair share. It’s ridiculous to think that we have to watch hundreds of millions of dollars go bye-bye and leave us with property tax bills,” he said.

Phelan also said he would stabilize and reduce property taxes with cuts to the buildings and grounds budget and the compensation packages for the town’s justice, budget officer and highway superintendent.