Preston - The Nov. 5 election will requires a two-sided ballot for the first time, raising a concern among town officials that voters will forget to turn it over to vote for candidates on the back.

State laws for minimum party representation also will add confusion to some races.

The Board of Finance race is in two categories, with Republican Merrill Gerber running unopposed to fill a four-year vacancy. Four candidates are vying for two six-year slots, but because the board already will have three Republicans - Gerber and two members not up for re-election this year - no more than one additional Republican can be elected.

Republican incumbent Kenneth Zachem is seeking his third six-year term on the finance board, while Republican William Legler and Democrats David Cannon and Sean Nugent are seeking their first terms.

The race partly reflects a controversy from last fall, when four finance board members campaigned against a proposed $4 million town bond that would have matched a $4 million state loan to continue cleanup of the former Norwich Hospital property. Voters rejected the plan, and the town also lost a $964,000 federal grant that required the town match.

Three candidates now running for Board of Finance are current members of the Preston Redevelopment Agency - Gerber, Legler and Nugent, who is PRA chairman - which oversees the hospital cleanup.

Nugent said last fall's referendum gave him "insight" that the finance board does not have the experience to handle complex financial issues that face the town. He said his background handling significant budgets at Pfizer Inc. before he retired would bring professional business experience to the board.

Legler said the referendum controversy was "the icing on the cake" that made him want to run. But he said he has more issues to raise, including the board's unwillingness to use a larger portion of the town surplus to keep taxes down. Legler also objected to the school budget increase and said the school board's $300,000 surplus at the end of last year proved the new budget was too high.

Zachem said his main focus on the finance board for the past 12 years has been to keep taxes down - including holding the PRA's expenses in check.

"Some people think there's a full apple tree of money out there," Zachem said. "I'm looking for what we're going to get in return. And now with the new Foxwoods mall, I don't see commercial retail development coming to Preston."

Cannon said he would bring a different issue to the forefront if he is elected. He wants to re-emphasize the town meeting in budget deliberations, giving residents the chance to vote on the budgets there, rather than sending them automatically to referendum.

"If people are dissatisfied, they can run a petition to referendum," Cannon said.

The Board of Education race will be governed by minority party representation as well. With two Democrats whose seats expire in 2015, no more than two other Democrats can be elected.

Republican incumbent Charles Raymond and new candidate Jennifer Harris will be elected. Democratic Town Committee-endorsed incumbent Pauline Andruskeiwicz and candidate Karin Davis, and petitioning candidate Cynthia Luty will compete for the two available seats.

Incumbent Republicans Daniel Sperduto and Charles Raymond and incumbent Democrat Frances Coviello and new Democratic candidate Anne Stockton are in the race for Planning and Zoning Commission.

Running unopposed are: incumbent Republican Hattie Wucik for town clerk/tax collector; incumbent Republican Susan Nylen for treasurer; Gregory Moran Jr. for Board of Assessment Appeals; Blaze Faillaci for PZC alternate; Gary Cardot for Zoning Board of Appeals, and Daniel Spicer and Donna Bowles for ZBA alternate.

c.bessette@theday.com