A new face is joining two veterans running for the three open seats on the Washington Grove political stage.

All three will most likely be elected and introduced at the annual Town Meeting this weekend.

Georgette Cole, a relatively new Washington Grover, will begin her first three-year term as councilwoman, replacing John Tomlin.

David Stopak will begin his second term on the council and John Compton his seventh one-year term as mayor.

After the three-hour voting Saturday afternoon, results will be announced at the 8 p.m. meeting, where residents have a chance to ask questions and bring up concerns, vote on whether to approve the 2006 budget and tax rate, and hear Compton's state-of-the-town speech.

Cole -- a council "groupie," as she's been called -- began attending meeting and taking notes almost three years ago, a few months before she and her husband moved into their Washington Grove home.

"I just found that I really enjoy them," said Cole, 51. "I find the mechanics of a small town fascinating."

She also joined the town's Women's Club and worked on committees dealing the development of a portion of the Casey Property that neighbors the town and the proposal to replace the Humpback Bridge.

A similar interest in the town's mechanics is part of what persuaded Stopak to run for a second term.

"I find it interesting to be connected to the town, to see how the county works, how things fit in," he said.

Stopak, 54, became involved in town politics about four years ago when developers were about to start building single-family homes on the Casey Property, a 125-acre plot east of Interstate 270 and north of Shady Grove Road. Though town eventually reached a deal with developers to designate a 12-acre portion of land to Legacy Open Space, securing the deal "is not done yet," he said.

After working during his first term as liaison between the council and the Historic Preservation Commission, which he will continue doing, Stopak has also become concerned about the town government's lack of control over development . "You know, we're out there in the county saying 'protect us because we're a historic resource,' but we can't protect ourselves from inside," he said.

Compton and Stopak said they chose to run again because they would like to follow through with some of the unfinished business, such as the future of the Humpback Bridge and making changes in the town's zoning laws.

In the last few months, the council has drafted two ordinances that would allow the town to impose fines on residents who commit zoning infractions.

Compton, 56, allowed himself to be persuaded to run for a seventh year, he said, also because "working with the people in town is a great pleasure."

His only reservation: "that the same person for too long may not be the right thing for the government."