Expect at least one new face on the Village Board of Trustees come April after candidates vie for three available seats.

Trustees Edward Schussler and Patricia Gira say they hope to keep their positions, though candidates cannot file petitions until mid-December for the April 5, 2011, election. The incumbents will be running as a slate with attorney Carole Ruzich. Orland Park-based attorney John Fotopoulos will also be running for a seat on the board.

Trustee Bernard Murphy has decided not to run for re-election, but could not be reached last week for comment. He has served on the Board of Trustees since 1985.

In the Orland Park Clerk's Office, prospective candidates can find filing information and sample paperwork. To avoid any partiality, the clerk's office offers no further advice to prospective and veteran candidates alike, said Deputy Village Clerk Joe La Margo.

Candidates running under a party banner need more than 476 signatures, whereas independent candidates are required to gather between 476 and 761—numbers that La Margo said are determined from a percentage of the total ballots cast in the 2007 trustee election.

The necessary petition documents can be found on the State Board of Elections and Cook County Clerk's Office websites and must be submitted in person or by mail to the Orland Park Clerk's Office no earlier than 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 13, and no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20.

Included in the petition should be a statement of candidacy, a receipt for filing the statement of economic interest with Cook, and the proper John Hancocks, bound in book form and numbered by page. A Loyalty Oath available through the Board of Elections is optional.

La Margo suggested all candidates obtain legal counsel regarding qualifications for office and filing. A petition once filed cannot be altered.