Twenty-five candidates, including elected officials, town employees and private citizens, are vying for nine open positions on the new Charter Commission and a chance to overhaul local government.

Narrowly approved by voters at Town Meeting in March, the commission can make a range of recommendations for changes to the town charter, from tweaking the way the town is currently run to whether Salem retains a board of selectmen or moves to adopt a town or city council.

One of three selectman vying for a seat on the commission, Arthur Barnes would like the commission to address problems that have arisen in the past when efforts to coordinate spending proposals between the town and the school district have failed. Though he does not have a specific form of government he would like to see put in place, having a central body of elected officials handling the budget could be a possible solution, he said.

“When it comes to the two sides of the town, the school and the town, they’re competing in the same arena. It’s been my experience that it’s almost impossible to coordinate big ticket items on both sides of the street,” Barnes said. “If we had a council, you would take the budgetary responsibilities of the School Board, the budgetary responsibilities of the (town) and bring them all together in one council so that these competitions would come to a stop, where you’ve got one body making the financial spending decisions.”

Patrick Hargreaves, a fellow selectman and candidate for the commission, believes that while improvements could be made, the current form of town government should be retained.

“There are certain things that everybody wants to change. I’m running to represent the small voice that likes the town the way it is. I think we have a great system in town,” he said. “I like to have my voice heard, and you do that at Town Meeting.”

A private citizen, Thomas Linehan said his major motivation to enter the race was to retain the needed super majority to pass bond articles and other large spending proposals.

“You’re obligating people 20 to 30 years down the road. You’re not just obligating the current people (in town),” he said.

A 15-year member of the Budget Committee, Stephen Campbell said he would like to see the charter include an ethics clause to spell out how the current town government should handle conflicts of interest as they occur in the future. Campbell has also come out in opposition to any changes that would turn Salem’s budgetary decisions solely over to a town or city council.

“If you change to town council ... how is it more democratic? A town council would let you elect the councilors, but it wouldn’t let you vote on the budget,” he said. “These calls for change always happen when people start turning down what the selectmen and School Board want them to vote for.”

The call for the creation of a commission arose out of several recommendations made in the fall by the Charter Reform Committee. Selectmen charged the committee last year with finding ways to improve Salem’s government.

A special election for the makeup of the commission is scheduled for May 19. The other candidates include Pamela Berry, Kevin J. Breen, Robert Campbell, Annette M. Cooke, Richard T. Cooney, Christopher Dillon, Laurence K. Disenhof, Dustin Dufour, Harley Featherston, Michael Flathers, William J. Ganley, Brian Keaveny, John LeFebvre, Joseph W. Lessard Jr., Michael Lyons, Patrick McDougall, Melanie Murray, Daniel J. Norris, Don Sorcinelli, Cathy Ann Stacey and Robert Uttley.