With long hours spent away from family and some hard words from constituents being inescapable realities of elected office, Michael Goldberg labored with his decision to run for re-election to the Board of Trustees on May 12.

"It can be thankless at times," said Goldberg, 41, a software engagement manager and 10-year South Orange resident who was elected to the Board in 2007. "The other factor was to make sure I had people I wanted to run with."

Goldberg's Pure Progress ticket—which defeated former Village President Bill Calabrese's ticket by breezy margins in 2007, when five spots were open—is joined by Janine Bauer, who was an interim Trustee in 2007, and Nancy Gould. They're running on a platform of continuing the work started over the past two years to hone a vision for redevelopment in the Village, be fiscally prudent, and bring more transparency to government affairs.

"This is a ticket that knows each other and likes each other," said Bauer, 54, an attorney and resident since 1993 who describes herself as a "capital-oriented person" and has worked to secure federal funding for the underway River Corridor project.

Bauer ran for re-election on Calabrese's ticket in 2007, but Goldberg says he consulted with her early in the process when he was considering whether to run again. They first met while working to preserve parts of the quarry from development.

"Janine wasn't the opposition," he said of the last election.

Though Gould, 51, a local realtor and Planning Board member who has lived in South Orange for four years, has never run for elected office, she worked on Pure Progress's 2007 campaign behind the scenes.

"I would love to help them to continue to do what they're doing," she said.

As for a direction to steer the Board, members of the ticket are hoping for a continuation of what's in progress. On Goldberg's list of accomplishments is bringing greater scrutiny to bear on expenses and taking a harder line on SOPAC's subsidies, as well as transparency. He makes personal efforts to inform the public by writing a blog and taking questions on Maplewood Online but also derives satisfaction from efforts made by the Board in that direction, like holding closed sessions of meetings only once the public sessions are finished so attendees aren't obliged to wait around.

"Everyone used to think it was this smoke-filled room where these deals were being cut," he said.

Continuing to pursue shared service agreements is another area of focus, particularly at a time when municipalities are looking for creative ways to trim their budgets. South Orange has already instituted shared electronics recycling and entered into a joint agreement to outsource large-turf lawn cutting with Maplewood, but more agreements—like a proposal to merge the violations bureau—are on the table.

As for redevelopment, the Vision Plan to chart a course for future building in the Village is well underway by the Boston-based Cecil Group, and the presentation of a draft plan is scheduled for April 30. Though critics question the rationale behind commissioning a plan in an economy where construction has ground to a stand-still, the Pure Progress candidates concur that it's wise to have a plan in place for when the economy improves.

"When we do have more development, it'll be set up in locations that are really planned out," Goldberg said.

The tone of the campaign remains to be seen. Pure Progress is running against Vision Action Balance, comprised of former Trustee Stephen Steglitz, Mary Washington Nieves and Dale Favors. Goldberg recalls the last election cycle being "very intense," but there were five candidates then instead of three.

The brief but fast-paced season of neighborhood canvassing and fundraisers is set to begin.

Editor's Note: I'm planning to run an interview with the opposing ticket, Vision Action Balance, later in the week.